Issued  May  23,  1911 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF   AGRICULTURE. 


FARMERS'  BULLETIN  447. 


BEES. 


E.  F.  PHILLIPS,  Ph.  D., 
In  Charge  of  Bee  Culture,  Bureau  of  Entotnology. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1911. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


U.  S.  Departmext  or  Agriculttue, 

Bureau  of  Entomology, 
WasMngton.  D.  0.,  March  4,  1911. 
Sm:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  manuscript  entitled 
"Bees,"  by  E.  F.  PhilUps,  Ph.  D.,  in  charge  of  bee  culture  in  this 
bureau. 

This  paper  will  supersede  Farmers'  Bulletins  59  and  397,  A  few 
new  illustrations  which  add  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  paper  and 
some  minor  alterations  in  the  text  are  the  only  changes  in  tliis  from 
Farmers'  Bulletin  397 ;  but  since  it  is  not  now  the  policy  of  the  depart- 
ment to  issue  revised  editions,  it  is  recommended  that  this  bulletin 
be  issued  under  a  new  serial  number. 

In  the  preparation  of  tliis  paper  the  aim  has  been  to  give  briefly 
such  information  as  is  needed  by  persons  engaged  in  the  keeping  of 
bees,  and  to  answer  inquiries  such  as  are  frequently  received  from 
correspondents  of  the  department.  Xo  attempt  has  been  made 
to  include  discussions  of  bee  anatomy,  honey  plants,  or  the  more 
special  manipulations  sometimes  ])racticed,  such  as  queen  rearing. 
The  discussion  of  apparatus  is  necessarily  brief. 
Respectfully, 

L.  O.  Howard, 
Entomologist  and  CJiief  of  Bureau, 
Hon,  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
447 
2 


CONTEXTS. 

Page. 

Introduction 5 

Location  of  the  apiary 6 

Equipment  in  apparatus 9 

Workshop 9 

Hives. 9 

Hive  stands 11 

Other  apparatus = 11 

Equipment  in  bees 12 

Bee  behaA"ior 15 

Directions  for  general  manipulations 19 

Transferring 22 

Uniting 24 

Preventing  robbing  in  the  apiarj- 25 

Feeding 26 

Spring  management 26 

Swarm  management  and  increase 29 

Artificial  swarming 31 

Prevention  of  swarming 32 

Preparation  for  the  harvest 33 

The  production  of  honey 33 

Extracted  honey 34 

Comb  honey 36 

The  production  of  wax 39 

Preparations  for  wintering 40 

Diseases  and  enemies 42 

General  information 44 

Breeders  of  queens 44 

Introducing  queens 44 

Dealers  in  bee  keepers'  supplies 45 

Bee  keepers'  associations 45 

Laws  affecting  beekeeping 45 

Disease  inspection 45 

Laws  against  spraj-ing  fruit  trees  while  in  bloom 46 

Laws  against  the  adulteration  of  honey 46 

When  bees  are  a  nuisance 46 

Supposed  injurj-  of  crops  by  bees 46 

Journals  and  books  on  beekeeping 46 

Publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  on  beekeeping 47 

447 

3 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Paga 

Fig.  1.  A  well-arranged  apiary 7 

2.  A  ten-frame  hive  with  comb-honey  super  and  perforated  zinc  queen 

excluder 10 

3.  Smoker 11 

4.  Bee  veil  with  silk-tulle  front 11 

5    Hive  tools 12 

6.  Drone  and  queen  trap  on  hive  entrance 12 

7.  Bee  escape  for  removing  bees  from  supers 13 

8.  Spiing  bee  escape 13 

9.  Bee  brush 14 

10.  Worker,  queen,  and  drone 16 

11.  Comb  architecture 17 

12.  Egg,  larvae,  and  pupa 18 

13.  Queen  cells 18 

14.  Handling  the  frame:  First  position 21 

15.  Handling  the  frame:  Second  position 21 

16.  Handling  the  frame :  Third  position 22 

17.  Division-board  feeder  to  be  hung  in  hive  in  place  of  frame 27 

18.  Feeder  set  in  collar  under  hive  body 27 

19.  "Pepper  box"  feeder  for  use  on  top  of  frames 28 

20.  Pan  in  f uper  arranged  for  feeding 28 

21.  Knives  for  uncapping  honey 34 

22.  Honey  extractor 35 

23.  Perforated  zinc  queen  excluder 38 

24.  Shipping  cases  for  comb  honey 38 

25.  Queen  mailing  cage 45 

447 

4 


BEES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Beekeeping  for  pleasure  and  profit  is  carried  on  by  many  thou- 
sands of  people  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  As  a  rule,  it  is 
not  the  sole  occupation.  There  are,  however,  many  places  where  an 
experienced  bee  keeper  can  make  a  good  Hving  by  devoting  his  entire 
time  and  attention  to  this  line  of  work.  It  is  usually  unwise  to 
undertake  extensive  beekeeping  without  considerable  previous  expe- 
rience on  a  small  scale,  since  there  are  so  many  minor  details  wliich 
go  to  make  up  success  m  the  work.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  begin  on 
a  small  scale,  make  the  bees  pay  for  themselves  and  for  all  addi- 
tional apparatus,  as  well  as  some  profit,  and  gradually  to  increase 
as  far  as  the  local  conditions  or  the  desires  of  the  individual  permit. 

Bee  culture  is  the  means  of  obtaining  for  human  use  a  natural 
product  which  is  abundant  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
which  would  be  lost  to  us  were  it  not  for  the  honey  bee.  The  annual 
production  of  honey  and  wax  in  the  United  States  makes  apiculture 
a  profitable  minor  industry  of  the  country.  From  its  very  nature 
it  can  never  become  one  of  the  leading  agricultural  pursuits,  but  that 
there  is  abundant  opportunity  for  its  growth  can  not  be  doubted. 
Not  only  is  the  honey  bee  valuable  as  a  producer,  but  it  is  also  one 
of  the  most  beneficial  of  insects  in  cross-pollinating  the  flowers  of 
various  economic  plants. 

Beekeeping  is  also  extremely  fascinating  to  the  majority  of  people 
as  a  pastime,  furnishing  outdoor  exercise  as  well  as  intimacy  Avith  an 
insect  whose  activity  has  been  a  subject  of  absorbing  study  from  the 
earliest  times.  It  has  the  advantage  of  being  a  recreation  which 
pays  its  own  way  and  often  produces  no  mean  profit. 

It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  paint  only  the  bright  side  of  the  pic- 
ture and  leave  it  to  the  new  bee  keeper  to  discover  that  there  is  often 
another  side.  Wliere  any  financial  profit  is  derived,  beekeeping 
requires  hard  work  and  work  at  just  the  proper  time,  otherwise  the 
surplus  of  honey  may  be  diminished  or  lost.  Few  lines  of  work 
require  more  study  to  insure  success.  In  years  when  the  available 
nectar  is  limited,  surplus  honey  is  secured  only  by  judicious  manipu- 
lations, and  it  is  only  through  considerable  experience  and  often  by 

447 

5 


6  BEES. 

expensive  reverses  that  the  bee  keeper  is  able  to  manipulate  properly 
to  save  his  crop.  Anyone  can  produce  honey  in  seasons  of  plenty, 
but  these  do  not  come  every  year  in  most  locations,  and  it  takes  a 
good  bee  keeper  to  make  the  most  of  poor  years.  When,  even  vriih 
the  best  of  manipulations,  the  crop  is  a  failure  through  lack  of  nectar, 
the  bees  must  be  fed  to  keep  them  from  starvation. 

The  average  annual  honey  yield  per  colony  for  the  entire  country, 
under  good  management,  \vill  probably  be  25  to  30  pounds  of  comb 
honey  or  40  to  50  pounds  of  extracted  honey.  The  money  return 
to  be  obtained  from  the  crop  depends  entirely  on  the  market  and  the 
method  of  seUing  the  honey.  If  sold  direct  to  the  consumer,  extracted 
honey  brings  from  10  to  20  cents  per  pound,  and  comb  honey  from 
15  to  25  cents  per  section.  If  sold  to  dealers,  the  price  varies  from 
6  to  10  cents  for  extracted  honey  and  from  10  to  15  cents  for  comb 
honey.  All  of  these  estimates  depend  largely  on  the  quahty  and 
neatness  of  the  product.  From  the  gross  return  must  be  deducted 
from  50  cents  to  SI  per  colony  for  expenses  other  than  labor,  includ- 
ing foundation,  sections,  occasional  new  frames  and  hives,  and  other 
incidentals.  This  estimate  of  expense  does  not  include  the  cost  of 
new  hives  and  other  apparatus  needed  in  providing  for  increase  in  the 
size  of  the  apiary. 

Above  all  it  should  be  emphasized  that  the  only  way  to  make  bee- 
keeping a  profitable  business  is  to  produce  only  a  first-class  article. 
We  can  not  control  what  the  bees  bring  to  the  hive  to  any  great 
extent,  but  by  proper  manipulations  we  can  get  them  to  produce 
fancy  comb  honey,  or  if  extracted  honey  is  produced  it  can  be  care- 
fully cared  for  and  neatly  packed  to  appeal  to  the  fancy  trade.  Too 
many  bee  keepers,  in  fact,  the  majority,  pay  too  httle  attention  to 
making  theu'  goods  attractive.  They  should  recognize  the  fact  that 
of  two  jars  of  honey,  one  in  an  ordinaiy  fruit  jar  or  tin  can  with  a 
poorly  printed  label,  and  the  other  in  a  neat  glass  jar  of  artistic  design 
with  a  pleasing,  attractive  label,  the  latter  will  biing  double  or  more 
the  extra  cost  of  the  better  package.  It  is  perhaps  unfortunate,  but 
nevertheless  a  fact,  that  honey  sells  largely  on  appearance,  and  a 
progressive  bee  keeper  will  appeal  as  strongly  as  possible  to  the  eye 
of  his  customer. 

LOCATION   OF   THE   APIARY. 

In  choosing  a  section  in  which  to  keep  bees  on  an  extensive  scale 
it  is  essential  that  the  resources  of  the  country  be  kno\\-n.  Beekeep- 
ing is  more  or  less  profitable  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
but  it  is  not  profitable  to  practice  extensive  beekeeping  in  localities 
where  the  plants  do  not  yield  nectar  in  large  quantities.  A  man  who 
desu'es  to  make  honey  production  his  business  may  find  that  it  does 

447 


BEES. 


not  pay  to  increase  the  apiaries  in  liis  present  location.  It  may  be 
better  to  more  to  another  part  of  the  country  ^vhe^e  nectar  is  more 
abundant . 

The  location  of  the  hives  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance. 
As  a  rule  it. is  better  for  hires  to  face  away  from  the  prevailing  Avind 
and  to  be  protected  from  high  \vinds.  In  the  Xorth,  a  south  slope 
is  desirable.  It  is  advisable  for  hives  to  be  so  placed  that  the  sun 
"vdU  strike  them  early  in  the  morning,  so  that  the  bees  become  active 
early  in  the  day.  and  thus  gain  an  advantage  by  getting  the  first  sup- 
ply of  nectar.  It  is  also  advantageous  to  have  the  hives  shaded 
during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day.  so  that  the  bees  ■wiU  not  hang  out  in 
front  of  the  hive  instead  of  working.    They  should  be  so  placed  that 


Fig.  1. — A  well-arranged  apiary. 

the  bees  will  not  prove  a  nuisance  to  passers-by  or  disturb  live  stock. 
This  latter  precaution  may  save  the  bee  keeper  considerable  trouble, 
for  bees  sometimes  prove  dangerous,  especially  to  horses.  Bees  are 
also  sometimes  annoying  in  the  early  spring,  for  on  their  first  flights 
they  sometimes  spot  clothes  hung  out  to  dry.  This  may  be  remedied 
by  having  the  apiary  some  distance  from  the  clothes-drying  yard,  or 
by  removing  the  bees  from  the  cellars  on  days  when  no  clothes  are  to 
be  hung  out. 

The  plot  on  which  the  liives  are  placed  should  be  kept  free  from 
weeds,  especially  in  front  of  the  entrances.  The  grass  may  be  cut 
with  a  lawn  mower,  but  it  wiU  often  be  found  more  convenient  and  as 
efiicient  to  pasture  one  or  more  head  of  sheep  in  the  apiary  inclosure. 

447 


BEES. 


The  hives  should  be  far  enough  apart  to  permit  of  free  mampu- 
lation.  If  hives  are  too  close  together  there  is  danger  of  bees  entering 
the  wrong  hive  on  returning,  especiallT  in  the  spring. 

These  conditions,  which  may  be  considered  as  ideal,  need  not  all 
be  followed.  When  necessary,  bees  may  be  kept  on  housetops,  in 
the  back  part  of  city  lots,  in  the  woods,  or  in  many  other  places 
where  the  ideal  conditions  are  not  found.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  few 
apiaries  are  perfectly  located;  nevertheless,  the  location  should  be 
carefully  planned,  especially  when  a  large  number  of  colonies  are 
kept  primarily  for  profit. 

As  a  rule,  it  is  not  considered  best  to  keep  more  than  100  colonies 
in  one  apiary,  and  apiaries  should  be  at  least  2  miles  apart.  There 
are  so  many  factors  to  be  considered,  however,  that  no  general  rule 
can  be  laid  down.  The  only  way  to  learn  how  many  colonies  any 
given  locaUty  will  sustain  is  to  study  the  honey  flora  and  the  record  of 
that  place  until  the  bee  keeper  can  decide  for  himself  the  best  number 
to  be  kept  and  where  they  shall  be  placed. 

The  experience  of  a  relatively  small  number  of  good  bee  keepers 
in  keeping  unusually  large  apiaries  indicates  that  the  capabihties  of 
the  average  locahty  are  usually  underestimated.  The  determination 
of  the  size  of  extensive  apiaries  is  worthy  of  considerable  study,  for 
it  is  obviously  desirable  to  keep  bees  in  as  few  places  as  possible,  to 
save  time  in  going  to  them  and  also  expense  in  duplicated  apparatus. 
To  the  majority  of  bee  keepers  this  problem  is  not  important,  for 
most  persons  keep  but  a  small  number  of  colonies.  This  is  perhaps 
a  misfortune  to  the  industry  as  a  whole,  for  with  fewer  apiaries  of 
larger  size  under  the  management  of  careful,  trained  bee  keepers  the 
honev  production  of  the  country  would  be  marvelously  increased. 
For  tliis  reason,  professional  bee  keepers  are  not  favorably  inclined 
to  the  making  of  thousands  of  amateurs,  who  often  spoil  the  location 
for  the  honey  producer  and  more  often  spoil  his  market  by  the  inju- 
dicious seUing  of  honey  for  less  than  it  is  worth  or  by  putting  an 
inferior  article  on  the  market. 

Out  apiaries,  or  those  located  away  from  the  main  apiary,  should 
be  so  located  that  transportation  will  be  as  easy  as  possible.  The 
primary  consideration,  however,  must  be  the  available  nectar  supply 
and  the  number  of  colonies  of  bees  already  near  enough  to  draw 
on  the  resources.  The  out  apiary  should  also  be  near  to  some  friendly 
person,  so  that  it  may  be  protected  against  depredation  and  so 
that  the  owner  may  be  notified  if  anything  goes  wrong.  It  is  espe- 
cially desirable  to  have  it  in  the  partial  care  of  some  person  who 
can  hive  swarms  or  do  other  similar  things  that  may  arise  in  an 
emergency.  The  terms  under  which  the  apiary  is  placed  on  land 
belonging  to  some  one  else  is  a  matter  for  mutual  agreement.  There 
is  no  general  usage  in  this  regard. 

447 


BEES.  9 

EQUIPMENT   IN   APPAEATUS. 

It  can  not  be  insisted  too  strongly  that  the  only  profitable  way  to 
keep  bees  is  in  hives  with  movable  irames.  The  bees  build  their 
combs  m  these  frames,  which  can  then  be  manipulated  by  the  bee 
keeper  as  necessary.  The  keeping  of  bees  in  boxes,  hollow  logs,  or 
straw  '"skeps"'  is  not  profitable,  is  often  a  menace  to  progressive  bee 
keepers,  and  should  be  strongly  condemned.  Bees  in  box  hives 
(plain  boxes  with  no  frames  and  with  combs  built  at  the  will  of  the 
bees)  are  too  often  seen  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  owners  may 
obtaLQ  from  them  a  few  pounds  of  inferior  honey  a  year  and  care- 
lessly continue  in  the  antiquated  practice.  In  some  cases  this  type 
of  beekeepuig  does  little  harm  to  others,  but  where  diseases  of  the 
brood  are  present  the  box  hive  is  a  serious  nuisance  and  should  be 
abohshed. 

WORKSHOP. 

It  is  desirable  to  have  a  workshop  in  the  apiary  where  the  crop 
may  be  cared  for  and  supphes  may  be  prepared.  If  the  ground  on 
which  the  hives  are  located  is  not  level,  it  is  usually  better  to  have 
the  shop  on  the  lower  side  so  that  the  heavier  loads  ^vill  be  carried 
down  grade.  The  -ssindows  and  doors  should  be  screened  to  prevent 
the  entrance  of  bees.  The  wire  cloth  should  be  placed  on  the  outside 
of  the  window  frames  and  should  be  extended  about  6  inches  above 
the  opening.  This  upper  border  should  be  held  away  from  the 
frame  with  narrow  wooden  strips  one-fourth  inch  in  thickness  so  as 
to  provide  exits  for  bees  which  accidentally  get  into  the  house.  Bees 
do  not  enter  at  such  openings,  and  any  bees  which  are  carried  into 
the  house  fly  at  once  to  the  windows  and  then  crawl  upward,  soon 
clearing  the  house  of  a|l  bees.  The  windows  should  be  so  arranged 
that  the  glass  may  be  slid  entirely  awtiy  from  the  openings  to  prevent 
bees  from  being  imprisoned.  The  equipment  of  benches  and  racks 
for  tools  and  supphes  can  be  arranged  as  is  best  suited  to  the  house. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  provide  racks  for  surplus  combs,  the  combs  being 
hung  from  strips  separated  the  distance  of  the  inside  length  of  the 
hive. 

HIVES. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  tliis  buUetin  to  advocate  the  use  of  any 
particular  make  of  hive  or  other  apparatus.  Some  general  state- 
ments may  be  made,  however,  which  may  help  the  begumer  in  his 
choice. 

The  tvpe  of  hive  most  generally  used  in  this  country  (fig.  2)  was 
invented  by  Langstroth  in  1S.51.  It  consists  of  a  plam  wooden  box 
holding  frames  hung  from  a  ral-bet  at  the  top  and  not  touching 
the  sides,  top,  or  bottom.  Hives  of  this  type  are  made  to  hold  eight, 
ten,  or  more  frames.  The  size  of  frame  in  general  use,  known  as  the 
86707 -~BuU.  447—11 2 


10 


BEES. 


Langstroth  (or  L;  frame  (9|  by  17f  inches),  is  more  widely  used 
than  alJ  others  combined.  One  of  the  best  featm-es  in  hive  manu- 
facture developed  by  Langstroth  is  the  making  of  the  spaces  be- 
tween frames,  side  walls,  and  supers  accurately,  so  that  there  is 
just  room  for  the  easy  passage  of  bees.  In  a  space  of  this  size 
(.called  a  "bee  space")  bees  rarely  build  comb  or  deposit  propolis 

The  number  of  frames  used 
depends  on  the  kind  of  honey 
produced  'whether  comb  or 
extracted)  and  on  the  length 
of  honey  flow  and  other  local 
factors.  T  h  e r  e  ^  are  other 
hires  used  wiiich  have  points 
of  superiority.  These  will  be 
found  discussed  in  the  va- 
rious books  on  beekeeping 
and  in  the  catalogues  of  deal- 
ers in  bee  keepers'  supplies. 
Whatever  hive  is  chosen, 
there  are  certain  important 
points  which  should  be  in- 
sisted on.  The  material 
should  be  of  the  best;  the 
parts  must  be  accurately 
made,  so  that  all  fi'ames  or 
liives  in  the  apiary  are  int  er- 
chancreable.  All  hives  should 
be  of  the  same  style  and  size; 
they  should  be  as  simple  as 
it  is  possible  to  make  them, 
to  facilitate  operation.  Sim- 
ple frames  diminish  the 
amount  of  propolis,  which 
will  interfere  with  manipu- 
lation. As  a  rule,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  buy  hives  and  frames 
from  a  manufacturer  of  such 
goods  rather  than  to  try  to 
make  them,  unless  one  is  an  expert  woodworker. 

The  choice  of  a  hive,  while  important,  is  usually  given  undue 
prominence  in  books  on  bees.  In  actual  practice  experienced  bee 
keepers  with  different  sizes  and  makes  of  liives  under  similar  condi- 
tions do  not  find  as  much  difference  in  their  honey  crop  as  one  woulo 
be  led  to  beheve  from  the  various  published  accounts. 

447 


Fig.  2. — A  lO-frame  hive  with  c-omb-honey  super  and 
perforated  zinc  queen  excluder. 


BEES. 


11 


Fig.  3.— Smoker. 


Hives  should  be  painted  to  protect  them  from  the  weather.     It 
is  usually  desirable  to  use  wliite  paint  to  prevent  excessive  heat  in 
the   colony    during  hot  weather. 
Other  light  colors  are  satisfactoiy, 
but  it  is  best  to  avoid  red  or  black. 


HIVE    STANDS. 


Generally  it  is  best  to'  have  each 
hive  on  a  separate  stand.  The 
entrance  should  be  lower  than  any 
other  part  of  the  hive.  Stands  of 
wood,  bricks,  tUe  (fig.  2),  concrete 
blocks,  or  any  other  convenient 
material  \vill  answer  the  purpose. 
The  hive  should  be  raised  above 
the  ground,  so  that  the  bottom 
will  not  rot.  It  is  usually  not  nec- 
essary to  raise  the  hive  more  than  a  few  inches.  Wliere  ants  are  a 
nuisance  special  hive  stands  are  sometimes  necessary. 

OTHER   APPARATUS. 

In  addition  to  the  hives  in  which  the  bees  are  kept  some  other 
apparatus  is  necessary.     A  good  smoker  to  quiet  the  bees  (fig.  3), 

consisting  of  a  tin  or  copper 
receptacle  to  hold  burning 
rotten  wood  or  other  mate- 
rial, with  a  bellows  attached, 
is  indispensable.  A  veil  of 
black  material,  preferably 
with  a  black  silk-tulle  front 
(fig.  4),  should  be  used.  Black 
wire-cloth  veils  are  also  ex- 
cellent. Even  if  a  veil  is  not 
always  used,  it  is  desirable 
to  have  one  at  hand  in  case 
the  bees  become  cross.  Cloth 
or  leather  gloves  are  some- 
times used  to  protect  the 
hands,  but  they  hinder  most 
manipulations.  Some  sort  of 
tool  (fig.  5)  to  pry  hive  cov- 
ers loose  and  frames  apart 
is  desirable.  A  screwdriver  will  answer,  but  any  of  the  tools  made 
especially    for   that   purpose    is   perhaps   better.      Division   boards 

447 


Fig.  4.— Bee  veil  with  sllk-tulle  front. 


12 


BEES. 


drone  traps  (fig.  6),  bee  escapes  (figs.  7  and  8),  feeders  (figs.  17,  IS,  19, 
20),  foundation  fasteners,  wax  extractors,  bee  brushes  (fig.  9),  queen- 
rearing  outfits,  and  apparatus  for  producing  comb  or  extracted  honey 
(figs.  2,  21,  22)  will  be  found  described  in  catalogues  of  supphes:  a 
full  discussion  of  these  implements  would  require  too  much  space  in  this 

bulletin.  A fewofthesethingsare illustrated, 
and  their  use  will  be  evident  to  the  bee  keeper. 
It  is  best  to  have  the  frames  filled  with  foun- 
dation to  insure  straight  combs  composed 
of  worker  cells  only.  Foundation  is  made 
from  thin  sheets  of  pure  beeswax  on  which 
are  impressed  the  bases  of  the  ceUs  of  the 
comb.  On  this  as  a  guide  the  worker  bees 
construct  the  combs.  When  sheets  of  foun- 
dation are  inserted  they  should  be  sup- 
ported by  wires  stretched  across  the  frames. 
Frames  purchased  from  supply  dealers  are 
usually  pierced  for  wiring.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  manipulation  based  on  a 
knowledge  of  bee  behavior  is  of  far  greater 
importance  than  any  particular  style  of  apparatus.  In  a  short  dis- 
cussion like  the  present  it  is  best  to  omit  descriptions  of  apphances, 
since  supply  dealers  will  be  glad  to  furnish  whatever  information  is 
desired  concerning  apparatus. 


Fig.  5.— Hive  tools. 


EQUIPMENT   IN   BEES. 

As  stated  previously,  it  is  desirable  to  begin  beekeeping  with  a 
small  number  of  colonies.      In  purchasing  these  it  is  usually  best 

to  obtain  them  near  at 


home  rather  than  to 
send  to  a  distance,  for 
there  is  considerable  Ka- 
bdity  of  loss  in  ship- 
ment. Whenever  pos- 
sible it  is  better  to  get 
bees   alrciidy  domiciled 

Fig.  0.— Drone  and  queen  trap  on  hive  entrance.  •        ^i^g    narticular     hivG 

chosen  by  the  bee  keeper,  but  if  this  is  not  practicable  then  bees  in 
any  hives  or  in  box  liives  may  be  purchased  and  transferred.  It  is  a 
matter  of  small  importance  what  race  of  bees  is  purchased,  for  queens 
of  any  race  may  be  obtained  and  introduced  in  place  of  the  original 
queen,  and  in  a  short  tilne  the  workers  will   all   be  of  the  same 

447 


BEES. 


13 


race  as  the  introduced  queen.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  during  the 
honey  season  worker  bees  die  rapidly,  and  after  requeening  they  are 
repkced  by  the  offspring  of  the  new  queen. 

A  most  important  consideration  m  purchasing  colonies  of  bees  is 
to  see  to  it  that  they  are  free  from  disease.  In  many  States  and 
counties  there  are  inspectors  of  apiaries  who  can  be  consulted  on  this 
point,  but  if  this  is  not  possi- 
ble even  a  novice  can  tell 
whether  or  not  there  is  any- 
thing wrong  with  the  brood, 
and  it  is  always  safest  to 
refuse  hives  containing  dead 
brood. 

The  best  time  of  the  year 
to  begin  beekeeping  is  in  the 
spring,  for  during  the  first  few 
months  of  ownership  the  bee 
keeper  can  study  the  subject 
and  learn  what  to  do,  so  that 
he  is  not  so  likely  to  make  a 
mistake  which  will  end  in  loss 
of  bees.  It  is  usually  best  to 
buy  good  strong  colonies  with 
plenty  of  brood  for  that  sea- 
son of  the  year,  but  if  this 
is  not  practicable,  then  smaller  colonies,  or  nuclei,  may  be  purchased 
and  built  up  duiing  the  summer  season.  Of  course,  no  suiplus 
honey  can  be  expected  if  all  the  honey  gathered  goes  into  themaldng 
of  additional  bees.  It  is  desirable  to  get  as  little  drone  comb  as  pos- 
sible and  a  good  supply  of  honey  in  the  colonies  purchased. 

The  question  as  to  what  race  and  strain  of  bees  is  to  be  kept  is 

important.  If  poor  stock 
has  been  purchased  locally, 
the  bee  keeper  should  send  to 
some  rehable  queen  breeder 
for  good  queens  as  a  foun- 
dation for  his  apiary. 
Queens  may   be   purchased 

Fig.  S.-Sprlng  bee  escape.  for    SI    Cach    for  "untCSted" 

to  several  dollars  each  for  ''selected"  breeding  queens.  Usually 
it  will  not  pay  beginners  to  buy  "selected"  breeding  queens,  for 
they  are  not  yet  prepared  to  make  the  best  use  of  such  stock. 
"Untested"  or  "tested"  queens  are  usually  as  good  a  quaUty  as  are 
profitable  for  a  year  or  so,  and  there  is  also  less  danger  in  mailing 
"untested"  (young)  queens. 

447 


Fig.  7. — Bee  escape  for  removing  bees  from  supers. 


14  BEES. 

Various  races  of  bees  have  been  imported  into  the  United  States 
and  among  experienced  bee  keepers  there  are  ardent  advocates  of 
ahnost  all  of  them.  The  black  or  German  race  was.  the  first  imported, 
very  early  in  the  history  of  the  country,  and  is  found  everywhere, 
but  usually  not  entirely  pure.  As  a  rule  this  race  is  not  desuable.  No 
attention  has  been  paid  to  breeding  it  for  improvement  in  this  country, 
and  it  is  usuallyfound  in  the  handsof  careless'bee  keepers.  As  a  result 
it  is  inferior,  although  it  often  produces  beautiful  comb  honey. 

The  Italian  bees,  the  next  introduced,  are  the  most  popular  race 
among  the  best  bee  keepers  in  this  country,  and  with  good  reason. 
They  are  vigorous  workers  and  good  honey  gatherers,  defend  their 
hives  well,  and  above  all  have  been  more  carefully  selected  by  Ameri- 
can breeders  than  any  other  race.  Especially  for  the  last  reason  it  is 
usually  desirable  to  keep  this  race.  That  almost  any  other  race  of  bees 
known  could  be  bred  to  as  high  a  point  as  the  Italians,  and  perhaps 
higher,  can  not  be  doubted,  but  the  bee  keeper  now  gets  the  benefit  of 
what  has  been  done  for  this  race.  It  should  not  beunderstood  from  this 
that  the  efforts  at  breeding  have  been  highly  successful.  On  the  con- 
trary, bee  breeding  will 
compare  veiy  unfavora- 
bly with  the  improve- 
ment of  other  animals  or 
plants  which  have  been 
the  subject  of  breeding 
investigation?. 

Italian  bees  have  been  carefully  selected  for  color  by  some  breeders 
to  increase  the  area  of  yellow  on  the  abdomen,  until  we  now  have 
what  are  known  as  "five-banded"  bees.  These  are  very  beautiful, 
but  it  can  scarcely  be  claimed  that  they  are  improved  as  honey  pro- 
ducers or  in  regard  to  gentleness.  They  are  kept  mostly  by  amateurs. 
Some  breeders  have  claimed  to  select  Italians  for  greater  length  of 
tongue,  with  the  object  of  getting  a  bee  which  could  obtain  the 
abundance  of  nectar  from  red  clover.  If  any  gain  is  ever  made  in 
this  respect,  it  is  soon  lost.  The  terms  "red-clover  bees"  or  "long- 
tongued  bees'  are  somewhat  misleading,  but  are  ordinarily  used  as 
indicating  good  honey  producers. 

Caucasian  bees,  formerly  distributed  throughout  the  country  by 
this  department,  are  the  most  gentle  race  of  bees  known.  They  are 
not  stingless,  however,  as  is  often  stated  in  newspapers  and  other 
periodicals.  Many  report  them  as  good  honey  gatherers.  They  are 
more  prolific  than  Italians  and  may  possibly  become  popular.  Their 
worst  characteristic  is  that  they  gather  great  quantities  of  propolis 
and  build  burr  and  brace  combs  very  freely.  They  are  most  desirable 
bees  for  the  amateur  or  for  experimental  purposes. 

447 


Fig.  9.— Bee  or 


BEES.  15 

Carniolan  and  Banat  bees  have  some  advocates,  and  are  desirable 
in  that  they  are  gentle.  Little  is  known  of  Banats  in  this  country, 
Carniolans  swarm  excessively  unless  in' large  hives.  Cyprians  were 
lormerly  used  somewhat,  but  are  now  rarely  found  pure,  and  are  unde- 
sirable either  pure  or  in  crosses  because  of  the  fact  that  they  sting 
with  the  least  provocation  and  are  not  manageable  with  smoke.  They 
are  good  honey  gatherers,  but  their  undesirable  qualities  have  caused 
them  to  be  discarded  by  American  bee  keepers.  ''Holy-land," 
Egyptian,  and  Punic  (Tunisian)  bees  have  also  been  tried  and  have 
been  universally  abandoned. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  does  not  now  distribute  or  sell 
queen  bees  or  colonies  of  bees  of  any  race. 

BEE   BEHAVIOR. 

The  successful  manipulation  of  bees  depends  entirely  on  a  knowlj- 
edge  of  their  habits.  This  is  not  generally  recognized,  and  most  of  the 
literature  on  practical  beekeeping  consists  of  sets  of  rules  to  guide 
manipulations.  This  is  too  true  of  the  present  paper,  but  is  due  to  a 
desire  to  make  the  bulletin  short  and  concise.  While  this  method 
usually  answers,  it  is  nevertheless  faulty,  in  that,  without  a  knowledge 
of  fundamental  principles  of  behavior,  the  bee  keeper  is  unable  to 
recognize  the  seemingly  abnormal  phases  of  activity,  and  does  not 
know  what  to  do  under  such  circumstances.  Rules  must,  of  course, 
be  based  on  the  usual  behavior.  By  years  of  association  the  bee 
keeper  almost  unconsciously  acquires  a  wide  knowledge  of  bee  behav- 
ior, and  consequently  is  better  able  to  solve  the  problems  which  con- 
stantly arise.  However,  it  would  save  an  infinite  number  of  mis- 
takes and  would  add  greatly  to  the  interest  of  the  work  if  more  time 
were  expended  on  a  study  of  behavior;  then  the  knowledge  gained 
could  be  applied  to  practical  manipulation. 

A  colony  of  bees  consists  normally  of  one  queen  bee  (fig.  10,  h), 
the  mother  of  the  colony,  and  thousands  of  sexually  undeveloped 
females  called  workers  (fig.  10,  a),  which  normally  lay  no  eggs, 
but  build  the  comb,  gather  the  stores,  keep  the  hive  clean,  feed 
the  young,  and  do  the  other  work  of  the  hive.  During  part  of 
the  year  there  are  also  present  some  hundreds  of  males  (fig. 
10,  c)  or  drones  (often  removed  or  restricted  in  numbers  by  the  beo 
keeper),  whose  only  service  is  to  mate  with  young  queens.  These 
thi^ee  types  are  easily  recognized,  even  by  a  novice.  In  nature  the 
colony  lives  in  a  hollow  tree  or  other  cavity,  but  under  manipulation 
thrives  in  the  artificial  hives  provided.  The  combs  which  form  their 
abode  are  composed  of  wax  secreted  by  the  workers.  The  hexagonal 
cells  of  the  two  vertical  layers  constituting  each  comb  have  inter- 
placed  ends  on  a  common  septum.     In  the  cells  of  these  combs  are 

447 


1« 


BEES. 


reared  the  developing  bees,  and  honey  and  pollen  for  food  are  also 
stored  here. 

The  cells  built  naturally  are  not  all  of  the  same  size,  those  used  in 
rearing  worker  bees  being  about  one-fifth  of  an  inch  across,  and  those 
used  in  rearing  drones  and  in  storing  honey  about  one-fourth  of  an 
inch  across  (fig.  11).  The  upper  cells  in  natural  combs  are  more 
irregular,  and  generally  curre  upward  at  the  outer  end.  They  are 
used  chiefly  for  the  storage  of  honey.  Under  manipulation  the  size 
of  the  cells  is  controlled  by  the  bee  keeper  by  the  use  of  comb  founda- 
tion— sheets  of  pure  beeswax  on  which  are  impressed  the  bases  of  cells 
and  on  which  the  bees  build  the  side  wails. 

In  the  Xorth,  when  the  activity  of  the  spring  begins,  the  normal 
colony  consists  of  the  queen  and  some  thousands  of  workers.  As  the 
outside  temperature  raises,  the  queen  begins  to  lay  eggs  (fig.  12,  a) 
in  the  worker  cells.     These  in  tune  df  relop  into  white  larvse  (fig.  12, 


Fig.  10. — The  honey  bee?  a,  Woiker;  b,  qoeoi;  c,  ditme.    Twice  natoral  sue 

&,  c),  which  grow  to  fill  the  cells.  They  are  then  capped  over  and 
transfoi-m  fijst  into  pupae  (fig.  12,  d)  and  then  into  adult  worker  bees. 
As  the  weather  grows  warmer,  and  the  colony  increases  in  size  by 
the  emergence  of  the  young  bees,  the  quantity  of  brood  is  iucreased. 
The  workers  continue  to  bring  in  pollen,  nectar  to  be  made  into  honey, 
and  water  for  brood  rearing.  "VThen  the  hive  is  nearly  filled  with 
bees  and  stores,  or  when  a  heavy  honey  flow  is  on,  the  queen  begins 
to  lay  eggs  in  the  larger  cells,  and  these  develop  into  drones  or  males. 
Continued  increase  of  the  colony  would  result  in  the  formation  of 
enormous,  colonies,  and  unless  some  division  takes  place  no  increase 
in  the  number  of  colonies  will  result.  Finally,  however,  the  workers 
begin  to  build  queen  cells  (fig.  13).  These  are  larger  than  any  other 
ceUs  In  the  hive  and  hang  on  the  comb  vertically.  In  size  and  shape 
they  may  be  likened  to  a  peanut,  and  are  also  rough  on  the  outside. 

447 


BEES. 


17 


In  preparing  for  swarming  the  queen  sometimes  lays  eggs  in  partly 
constructed  C[ueen  cells,  but  when  a  colony  becomes  queenless  the 
cells  are  built  around  female  larr^e.  The  larvae  in  these  cells  receive 
special  food,  and  when  they  have  grown  to  full  size  they,  too,  are 
sealed  up.  and  the  colony  is  then  ready  for  swarming. 

The  issuing  of  the  first  swarm  from  a  colony  consists  of  the  depar- 
ture of  the  original  queen  with  part  of  the  workers.     They  leave  behind 


c 


Fig.  11.— Comb  architecture:  a,  Vertical  section  at  top  of  comb;  b,  vertical  section  showing  transition  from 
worker  to  drone  cells;  c,  horizontal  section  at  side  of  comb  showing  end  bar  of  frame;  d,  horizontal  section 
of  worker  brood  cells;  e,  diagram  showing  transition  celb.    Natural  size. 

the  honev  stores,  except  such  as  they  can  carry  in  theu*  honey  stom- 
achs, the  brood,  some  workers,  drones,  several  queen  cells,  from 
which  will  later  emerge  yoimg  queens,  but  no  adult  queen.  By  this 
interesting  process  the  original  colony  is  divided  into  two. 

The  swarm  finds  a  new  location  in  some  place,  such  as  a  hollow  tree, 
or,  if  cared  for  by  the  bee  keeper,  in  a  hive.     The  workers  build  new 
86707°— Bull.  447—11 3 


18 


BEES. 


Fig.  12.— The  honey  bee:  o,  Egg;  b, 
young  larva;  c,  old  larva;  d,  pupa. 
Three  times  natural  size. 


combs,   the  queen  begins  laying,  and  in  a  short  time   the  swarm 

becomes  a  normal  colony. 

The    colony  on    the   old  stand    (parent   colony)   is  increased   by 

the  bees  emerging  from  the  brood.     After  a  time   (usually  about 

seven  or  eight  days)  the  queens  in  their 
cells  are  ready  to  emerge.  If  the  colony 
is  only  moderately  strong  the  first  queen 
to  emerge  is  allowed  by  the  workers  to 
tear  down  the  other  queen  cells  and  kill 
the  queens  not  yet  emerged, but  if  a  "sec- 
ond swarm"  is  to  be  given  off  the  queen 
cells  are  protected. 

If  the  weather  permits,  when  from  5  to 
8  days  old,  the  young  queen  fhes  from 
the  hive  to  mate  with  a  drone.  Mating 
usually  occurs  but  once  during  the  life  of 
the  queen  and  always  takes  place  on  the 
wing.  In  mating  she  receives  enough 
spermatozoa  (male  sex  cells)  to  last 
throughout  her  life.  She  returns  to  the 
hive  after  mating,  and  in  about  two  days 

begins  egg  laying.     The  queen  never  leaves  the  hive  except  at  mating 

time  or  vrith  a  swarm,  and  her  sole  duty  in  the  colony  is  to  lay  eggs 

to  keep  up  the  population. 

"\Mien  the  flowers  which  furnish  most  nectar  are  in  bloom,  the  bees 

usually  gather  more  honey  than  thev  need 

for  their  o^^^l  use,  and  this  the  bee  keeper 

can   safely    remove.      They  continue  the 

collection    of   honey   and    other   activities 

until  cold  weather  comes  on  in   the  fall, 

when  brood  rearing  ceases;  they  then  be- 
come   relatively  quiet,  remaining   in    the 

hive  all  winter,  except  for  short  flights  on 

warm  days.     When  the  main  honey  flow 

is  over,  the  drones  are  usually  driven  fi'om 

the  hive.     By  that  time  the  virgin  queens 

have    been  mated   and  drones  are   of   no 

further  use.     They  are  not  usually  stung 

to  death,  but  are  merely  carried  or  driven 

from  the  hive  by  the  workers  and  starve. 

A  colony  of  bees  which  for  any  reason  is 

without  a  queen  does  not  expel  the  drones. 
Many  abnormal  conditions  may  arise  in 

the  activity  of  a  colony,  and  it  is  therefore  necessary  for  the  bee 

keeper  to  understand  most  of  these,  so  that  when  they  occur  he  may 

overcome  them.     If  a  virgin  queen  is  prevented  from  mating  she 

447 


.  1'-^  • 


Fig.  13.— Queen  cells.    Natural  size. 


BEES.  19 

generally  dies,  but  occasionally  begins  to  lay  eggs  aft^r  about  four 
weeks.  In  this  event,  however,  all  of  the  eggs  which  develop  become 
males.     Such  a  queen  is  commonly  called  a  "drone  layer." 

If  the  rirgin  queen  is  lost  while  on  her  flight,  or  the  colony  at  any 
other  time  is  left  queenless  without  means  of  rearing  additional 
queens,  it  sometimes  happens  that  some  of  the  workers  begin  to  lay 
eggs.     These  eggs  also  develop  only  into  drones. 

It  also  happens  at  times  that  when  a  queen  becomes  old  her  supply 
of  spermatozoa  is  exhausted,  at  which  tune  her  eggs  also  develop 
only  into  drones.  These  facts  are  the  basis  of  the  theory  that  the 
drone  of  the  bee  is  developed  from  an  unfertilized  egg  or  is  partheno- 
genetic.     A  full  discussion  of  this  point  is  impossible  in  this  place. 

The  work  of  the  hive  is  very  nicely  apportioned  among  the  inmates, 
so  that  there  is  httle  lost  effort.  As  has  been  stated,  the  rearing  of 
young  is  accomphshed  by  having  one  individual  to  lay  eggs  and 
numerous  others  (immature  females  or  workers)  to  care  for  the  larvjp. 
In  hke  manner  all  work  of  the  colony  is  apportioned.  In  general, 
it  may  be  stated  that  all  inside  work — wax  building,  care  of  brood, 
and  cleaning — is  done  by  the  younger  workers,  those  less  than  17 
days  old,  while  the  outside  work  of  collecting  poUen  and  nectar  to  be 
made  into  honey  is  done  by  the  older  workers.  This  plan  may  be 
changed  by  special  conditions.  For  example,  if  the  colony  has  been 
queenless  for  a  tune  and  a  queen  is  then  given,  old  workers  may 
begin  the  inside  work  of  feeding  larvae,  and  these  may  also  secrete 
wax.  Or,  if  the  old  workers  are  all  removed,  the  younger  bees  may 
begin  outside  work.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  general  plan  of  division 
of  labor  according  to  age  is  probably  followed  rather  closely. 

DIRECTIONS   FOR   GENERAL   MANIPULATIONS. 

Bees  should  be  handled  so  that  they  will  be  little  disturbed  in 
their  work.  As  much  as  possible,  stings  should  be  avoided  during 
manipulation.  This  is  true,  not  so  much  because  they  are  painful 
to  the  operator,  but  because  the  odor  of  poison  which  gets  into  the 
au-  irritates  the  other  bees  and  makes  them  more  difficult  to  manage. 
For  this  reason  it  is  most  advisable  to  wear  a  black  veil  (fig.  4)  over 
a  wide-brimmed  hat  and  to  have  a  good  smoker  (fig.  3).  Gloves, 
however,  are  usually  more  an  inconvenience  than  other^vise.  Gaunt- 
lets or  rubber  bands  around  the  cufis  keep  the  bees  from  crawUng 
up  the  sleeve.  It  is  best  to  avoid  black  clothing,  since  that  color 
seems  to  excite  bees;  a  black  felt  hat  is  especially  to  be  avoided. 

Superfluous  quick  movements  tend  to  irritate  the  bees.  The  hive 
should  not  be  jarred  or  disturbed  any  more  than  necessary.  Rapid 
movements  are  objectionable,  because  with  their  peculiar  eye  struc- 
ture bees  probably  perceive  motion  more  readily  than  they  do  objects. 
Persons  not  accustomed  to  bees,  on  approaching  a  hive,  often  strike 

447 


20  BEES. 

at  bees  which  fly  toward  them  or  make  some  quick  movement  of  the 
head  or  hand  to  avoid  the  sting  which  they  fear  is  to  follow.  This 
should  not  be  done,  for  the  rapid  movement,  even  if  not  toward  the 
bee.  is  far  more  hkely  to  be  followed  by  a  sting  than  remaining  quiet. 

The  best  time  to  handle  bees  is  during  the  middle  of  warm  days, 
particularly  during  a  honey  flow.  Never  handle  bees  at  night  or  on 
cold,  wet  days  unless  absolutely  necessary.  The  work  of  a  beginner 
may  be  made  much  easier  and  more  pleasant  by  keeping  gentle  bees. 
Caucasians,  Carniolans,  Banats,  and  some  strains  of  Itahans  ordi- 
narily do  not  sting  much  unless  unusually  provoked  or  except  in  bad 
weather.  Common  black  bees  or  crosses  of  blacks  with  other  races 
are  more  irritable.  It  may  be  well  worth  while  for  the  beginner  to 
procure  gentle  bees  wliile  gaining  experience  in  manipulation.  Later 
on,  this  is  less  important,  for  the  bee  keeper  learns  to  handle  bees 
with  httle  inconvenience  to  liimself  or  to  the  bees.  Various  remedies 
for  bee  stings  have  been  advocated,  but  they  are  all  useless.  The 
puncture  made  by  the  sting  is  so  small  that  it  closes  when  the  sting 
is  removed  and  hquids  can  not  be  expected  to  enter.  The  best 
thing  to  do  when  stung  is  to  remove  the  sting  as  soon  as  possible 
without  squeezing  the  poison  sac,  which  is  usually  attached.  This 
can  be  done  by  scraping  it  out  with  a  knife  or  finger  nail.  After 
this  is  done  the  injured  spot  should  be  let  alone  and  not  rubbed  -with 
any  hniment.  The  intense  itching  will  soon  disappear;  any  irritation 
only  serves  to  increase  the  afterswelhng. 

Before  opening  a  hive  the  smoker  should  be  lighted  and  the  veil 
put  on.  A  few  puffs  of  smoke  directed  into  the  entrance  will  cause 
the  bees  to  fill  themselves  with  honey  and  \sill  drive  back  the  guards. 
The  hive  cover  should  be  raised  gently,  if  necessary  being  pried  loose 
with  a  screwdriver  or  special  hive  tool.  When  shghtly  raised,  a 
httle  more  smoke  should  be  blown  in  vigorously  on  the  tops  of  the 
frames,  or  if  a  mat  covering  for  the  frames  is  used,  the  cover  should 
be  entirely  removed  and  one  corner  of  the  mat  hfted  to  admit  smoke. 
It  is  not  desirable  to  use  any  more  smoke  than  just  enough  to  subdue 
the  bees  and  keep  them  down  on  the  frames.  If  at  any  time  during 
manipulation  they  become  excited,  more  smoke  may  be  necessary. 
Do  not  stand  in  front  of  the  entrance,  but  at  one  side  or  the  back. 

After  the  frames  are  exposed  they  may  be  loosened  by  prying 
gently  with  the  hive  tool  and  crowded  together  a  httle  so  as  to  give 
room  for  the  removal  of  one  frame.  In  cool  weather  the  propohs  (bee 
glue)  may  be  brittle.  Care  should  be  exercised  not  to  loosen  this 
propohs  with  a  jar.  The  first  frame  removed  can  be  leaned  against  the 
hive,  so  that  there  vdU.  be  more  room  inside  for  handhng  the  others. 
During  aU  manipulations  bees  must  not  be  mashed  or  crowded,  for  it 
irritates  the  colony  greatly  and  may  make  it  necessary  to  discontinue 

447 


BEES. 


21 


Fig.  14. — Handling  the  frame:  First  position. 


operations.  Undue  crowding  may  also  crush  the  queen.  If  bees 
crawl  on  the  hands,  they  may  be  gently  brushed  off  or  thrown  off. 

In  examining  a  frame  hold  it  over  the  hive  if  possible,  so  that  any 
bees  or  queen  which  fall  may  drop  into  it.  Fresldy  gathered  honey 
also  often  drops  from  the  frame,  and  if  it  falls  in  the  liive  the  bees  can 
quickly  clean  it 
up,  whereas  if  it 
drops  outside  it  is 
untidy  and  may 
cause  robbing.  If 
a  frame  is  tem- 
porarily leaned 
against  the  hive, 
it    should    be 

placed  in  a  nearly  upright  position  to  prevent  breakage  and  leaking 
of  honey.  The  frame  on  which  the  queen  is  located  should  not  be 
placed  on  the  ground,  for  fear  she  may  crawl  away  and  be  lost.  It  is 
best  to  lean  the  frame  on  the  side  of  the  hive  away  from  the  oper- 
ator, so  that  bees  ^^'ill  not  crawl  up  his  legs. 

In  handhng  frames  the 
comb  should  always  beheld 
in  a  vertical  position,  espe- 
cially if  it  contains  much 
honey.  When  a  fi'ame  is 
lifted  fi'om  the  hive  by  the 
top  bar,  the  comb  is  ver- 
tical with  one  side  toward 
the  operator  (fig.  14).  To 
examine  the  reverse  side, 
raise  one  end  of  the  top  bar 
until  it  is  perpendicular 
(fiff.  15),  turn  the  frame  on 
the  top  bar  as  an  axis  un- 
til the  reverse  side  is  in  view, 
and  then  lower  to  a  hori- 
zontal position  with  the  top 
bar  below  (fig.  16).  In  tliis 
wav there  is  no  extra  strain 

FIG.  15.-Handllng  the  frame:  Second  position.  ^^^^  \^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^    ^j^^  ^^^^ 

are  not  irritated.  This  care  is  not  so  necessary  with  ^^ired  combs, 
but  it  is  a  good  habit  to  form  in  handling  frames. 

It  is  desirable  to  have  combs  composed  entirely  of  worker  ceUs  in 
order  to  reduce  the  amount  of  drone  brood.     The  use  of  fuU  sheets  of 

447 


22 


BEES. 


foundation  will  bring  this  about  and  is  also  of  value  in  making  the 
combs  straight,  so  that  bees  are  not  mashed  in  removing  the  frame. 
It  is  extremely  difficult  to  remove  combs  built  cross\rise  in  the  hive, 
and  this  should  never  be  allowed  to  occur.  Such  a  hive  is  even 
worse  than  a  plain  box  hive.  Superfluous  inside  fixtures  should  be 
avoided,  as  they  tend  only  to  impede  manipulation.  The  hive  should 
also  be  placed  so  that  the  entrance  is  perfectly  horizontal  and  a  httle 
lower  than  the  back  of  the  hive.  The  frames  will  then  hang  in  a 
vertical  position,  and  the  outer  ones  will  not  be  fastened  by  the  bees 
to  the  liive  body  if  properly  spaced  at  the  top. 

In  placing  frames  m  the  hive  great  care  should  be  exercised  that 
they  are  properly  spaced.  Some  frames  are  self-spacing,  havmg  pro- 
jections on  the  side,  so  that  when  placed  as  close  as  possible  they  are 
the  correct  distance  apart.     These  are  good  for  beginners  or  persons 

who  do  not  judge  dis- 
tances well  and  are 
preferred  by  many 
professional  bee  keep- 
ers. If  unspaced 
frames  are  used,  the 
brood  frames  should 
be  If  inches  from  cen- 
ter to  center.  A  little 
practice  will  usually 
enable  anyone  to  space 
quickly  and  accu- 
rately. Careful  spac- 
ing is  necessary  to  prevent  the  building  of  combs  of  irregular  thick- 
ness and  to  retard  the  building  of  pieces  of  comb  from  one  frame  to 
another. 

A  beginner  in  beekeepmg  should  by  all  means,  if  possible,  visit 
some  experienced  bee  keeper  to  get  suggestions  in  handling  bees. 
More  can  be  learned  in  a  short  visit  than  in  a  considerably  longer 
time  in  reading  directions,  and  numerous  short  cuts  which  are  acquired 
by  experience  will  well  repay  the  trouble  or  expense  of  such  a  visit. 
Not  all  professional  bee  keepers  manipulate  m  the  very  best  way, 
but  later  personal  experience  will  correct  any  erroneous  information. 
Above  all,  personal  expermientation  and  a  study  of  bee  activity  are 
absolute  necessities  in  the  practical  handlmg  of  bees. 


Fig.  16.— Handling  the  frame:  Third  position. 


TRANSFERRING. 

In  mcreasing  the  apiary  it  is  sometimes  best  to  buy  colonies  in  box 
hives  on  account  of  their  smaller  cost  and  to  transfer  them  to  hives 
with  movable  frames.     This  should  be  done  as  soon  as  possible,  for 

447 


BEES.  23 

box-hive  colonies  are  of  small  value  as  producers.  The  best  time  to 
transfer  is  in  the  sprmg  (durmg  fruit  bloom  in  the  North)  when  the 
amount  of  honey  and  the  population  of  the  colony  are  at  a  minimum. 

Transferring  should  not  be  delayed  until  spring  merely  because 
that  seasoji  is  best  for  the  work.  It  may  be  done  at  any  time  dur- 
ing the  active  season,  but,  whenever  possible,  during  a  honey  flow, 
to  prevent  robbing.  If  necessary,  it  may  be  done  in  a  tent  such  as 
is  often  used  in  manipulating  colonies.  By  choosing  a  time  of  the 
day  when  the  largest  number  of  bees  are  in  the  field  the  work  will  be 
lessened. 

Plan  1. — The  box  hive  should  be  moved  a  few  feet  from  its  stand 
and  in  its  place  should  be  put  a  hive  with  movable  frames  contain- 
ing full  sheets  of  foundation.  The  box  hive  should  be  turned  upside 
down  and  a  small,  empty  box  inverted  over  it.  By  drumming  con- 
tinuously on  the  box  hive  with  sticks  for  a  considerable  time  the  bees 
will  be  made  to  desert  their  combs  and  go  to  the  upper  box,  and 
when  most  of  them  are  clustered  above,  the  bees  may  be  dumped 
in  front  of  the  entrance  of  the  hive  which  is  to  house  them.  The 
queen  will  usually  be  seen  as  the  bees  enter  the  hive,  but,  in  case 
she  has  not  left  the  old  combs,  more  drumming  will  induce  her  to 
do  so.  It  is  necessary  that  the  queen  be  in  the  hive  before  this 
manipulation  is  finished.  The  old  box  hive  containing  brood  may 
now  be  placed  right  side  up  in  a  new  location  and  in  21  days 
all  of  the  worker  brood  will  have  emerged  and  probably  some 
new  Cjueens  will  have  been  reared.  These  bees  may  then  be  drummed 
out  and  united  with  their  former  hive  mates  by  vigorously  smoking 
the  colony  and  the  drummed  bees  and  allowing  the  latter  to  enter 
the  hive  through  a  perforated  zinc  to  keep  out  the  young  queens. 
The  comb  in  the  box  hive  may  then  be  melted  up  and  any  honey 
which  it  may  contain  used  as  the  bee  keeper  sees  fit.  By  this  method 
good  straight  combs  are  obtained.  If  little  hone}^  is  being  gathered, 
the  colony  in  the  hive  must  be  provided  with  food. 

Plan  2. — If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  operator  desires  to  save  the 
combs  of  the  box  hive,  the  bees  may  be  drummed  into  a  box  and  the 
brood  combs  and  other  fairly  good  combs  cut  to  fit  frames  and  tied 
in  place  or  held  with  rubber  bands,  strings,  or  strips  of  wood  until 
the  bees  can  repair  the  damage  and  fill  up  the  breaks.  These  frames 
can  then  be  hung  in  a  hive  on  the  old  stand  and  the  bees  allowed  to 
go  in.  The  cutting  of  combs  containing  brood  with  more  or  less  bees 
on  them  is  a  disagreeable  job,  and,  since  the  combs  so  obtained  are 
usually  of  little  value  in  an  apiary,  the  first  method  is  recommended. 

Plan  3.— Another  good  plan  is  to  wait  until  the  colony  swarms 
and  then  move  the  box  hive  to  one  side.  A  movable  frame  hive  is 
now  placed  in  the  former  location  of  the  box  hive  and  the  swarm  is 
hived  in  it.     In  this  way  all  returning  field  bees  are  forced  to  join 

447 


24  BEES. 

the  swarm.  In  21  days  all  of  the  worker  brood  in  the  box  hive  will 
have  emerged.  These  young  bees  may  then  be  united  \\*ith  the  bees 
in  the  frame  liive  and  the  box  hive  destroyed. 

Colonies  often  take  up  their  abode  in  walls  of  houses  and  it  is  often 
necessary  to  remove  them  to  prevent  damage  from  melting  combs. 
If  the  cavit}-  in  wliich  the  combs  are  built  can  be  reached,  the  method 
of  procedure  is  Hke  that  of  transferring,  except  that  drumming  is  im- 
practical and  the  bees  must  simply  be  subdued  ^^^th  smoke  and  the 
combs  cut  out  with  the  bees  on  them. 

Another  method  wliich  is  often  better  is  to  place  a  bee  escape  over 
the  entrance  to  the  cavity,  so  that  the  bees  can  come  out,  but  can  not 
return.  A  cone  of  \vire  cloth  about  8  inches  high  %vith  a  hole  at  the 
apex  just  large  enough  for  one  bee  to  pass  wiU  serve  as  a  bee  escape, 
or  regular  bee  escapes  (fig.  8)  such  as  are  sold  by  dealers  may  be  used. 
A  hive  wliich  they  can  enter  is  then  placed  beside  the  entrance. 
The  queen  is  not  obtained  in  this  way  and,  of  course,  goes  right  on  lay- 
ing eggs,  but  as  the  colony  is  rapidly  reduced  in  size  the  amount  of 
brood  decreases.  As  brood  emerges,  the  younger  bees  leave  the 
cavity  and  join  the  bees  in  the  hive,  until  finally  the  queen  is  left  prac- 
tically alone.  A  new  c^ueen  should  be  given  to  the  bees  in  the  hive  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  in  a  short  time  the}"  are  fully  established  in  their 
new  quarters.  After  about  four  weeks,  when  aU  or  nearly  all  of  the 
brood  in  the  cavity  has  emerged,  the  bee  escape  should  be  removed 
and  as  large  a  hole  made  at  the  entrance  of  the  cavity  as  possible. 
The  bees  will  then  go  in  and  rob  out  the  honey  and  carry  it  to  the  hive, 
leaving  only  empty  combs.  The  empty  combs  will  probably  do  no 
damage,  as  moths  usually  soon  destroy  them  and  they  may  be  left  in 
the  cavity  and  the  old  entrance  carefully  closed  to  prevent  another 
swarm  from  taking  up  quarters  there. 

In  transferring  bees  from  a  hollow  tree  the  method  vnl\  depend  on 
the  accessibility  of  the  cavity.  Usually  it  is  difficult  to  drum  out  the 
bees  and  the  combs  can  be  cut  out  after  subduing  the  colony  ^-ith 
smoke. 

UNITING. 

Frequently  colonies  become  queenless  when  it  is  not  practicable  to 
give  them  a  new  queen,  and  the  best  practice  under  such  conditions 
is  to  unite  the  queenless  bees  to  a  normal  colony.  If  any  colonies  are 
weak  in  the  fall,  even  if  they  have  a  queen,  safe  ^diitering  is  better 
insured  if  two  or  more  weak  colonies  are  united,  keeping  the  best 
queen.  Under  various  other  conditions  which  may  arise  the  bee 
keeper  may  find  it  desirable  to  unite  bees  from  different  colonies. 
Some  fundamental  facts  in  bee  behavior  must  be  thoroughly  under- 
stood to  make  this  a  success. 

Every  colony  of  bees  has  a  distinctive  colony  odor  and  by  this 
means  bees  recognize  the  entering  of  their  hive  by  bees  from  other 

447 


BEES.  25 

colonies  and  usually  resent  it.  If,  however,  a  bee  comes  heavily 
laden  from  the  field  and  flies  directly  into  the  wrong  hive  without 
hesitation  it  is  rarely  molested.  In  uniting  colonies,  the  separate 
colony  odors  must  be  hidden,  and  this  is  done  by  smoking  each  colony 
vigorously.  It  may  at  times  be  desirable  to  use  tobacco  smoke, 
which  not  only  covers  the  colony  odor  but  stupefies  the  bees  some- 
what. Care  should  be  taken  not  to  use  too  much  tobacco,  as  it  will 
completely  overcome  the  bees.  The  queen  to  be  saved  should  be 
caged  for  a  day  or  two  to  prevent  the  strange  bees  from  killing  her  in 
the  first  excitement. 

Another  fact  which  must  be  considered  is  that  the  bees  of  a  colony 
carefully  mark  the  location  of  their  own  hive  and  remember  that  loca- 
tion for  some  time  after  they  are  removed.  If,  therefore,  two  colonies 
in  the  apiary  which  are  not  close  together  are  to  be  united,  they  should 
be  moved  gradually  nearer,  not  more  than  a  foot  at  a  time,  until 
they  are  side  by  side,  so  that  the  bees  will  not  return  to  their  original 
locations  and  be  lost.  As  the  hives  are  moved  gradually  the  slight 
changes  are  noted  and  no  such  loss  occurs.  As  a  further  precaution, 
a  board  should  be  placed  in  front  of  the  entrance  in  a  slanting  position, 
or  brush  and  weeds  may  be  thrown  down  so  that  when  the  bees  fly 
out  they  recognize  the  fact  that  there  has  been  a  change  and  accustom 
themselves  to  the  new  place.  If  uniting  can  be  done  during  a  honey 
flow,  there  is  less  danger  of  loss  of  bees  by  fighting,  or  if  done  in  cool 
weather,  when  the  bees  are  not  actively  rearing  brood,  the  colony 
odors  are  diminished  and  the  danger  is  reduced. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  unite  two  or  more  weak  swarms  to  make  one 
strong  one,  for  during  swarming  the  bees  have  lost  their  memory  of 
the  old  location,  are  full  of  honey,  and  are  easily  placed  wherever  the 
bee  keeper  wishes.  They  may  simph^  be  thrown  together  in  front  of 
a  hive.  Swarms  may  also  be  given  to  a  newly  established  colony 
with  little  difficulty. 

PREVENTING   ROBBING   IN  THE    APIARY. 

When  there  is  no  honey  flow  bees  are  inclined  to  rob  other  colonies, 
and  every  precaution  must  be  taken  to  prevent  this.  Feedmg  often 
attracts  other  bees,  and,  if  there  are  indications  of  robbing,  the  sirup 
or  honey  should  be  given  late  in  the  day.  As  soon  as  robbing  begins, 
manipulation  of  colonies  should  be  discontinued,  the  hives  closed,  and, 
if  necessary,  the  entrances  contracted  as  far  as  the  weather  will  per- 
mit. If  brush  is  thrown  in  front  of  the  entrance,  robbers  are  less 
likely  to  attempt  entering.  At  all  times  honey  which  has  been 
removed  from  the  hives  should  be  kept  where  no  bees  can  get  at  it, 
so  as  not  to  incite  robbing. 

447 


26  BEES. 

FEEDING. 

During  spring  manipulations,  in  preparing  bees  for  winter,  and  at 
other  times  it  may  be  necessaiy  to  feed  bees  for  stimulation  or  to 
pro^dde  stores.  Honey  from  an  unlcnown  source  should  never  he  used,  for 
fear  of  introducing  disease,  and  sirup  made  of  granulated  sugar  is 
cheapest  and  best  for  this  purpose.  The  cheaper  grades  of  sugar  or 
molasses  should  never  be  used  for  winter  stores.  The  proportion  of 
sugar  to  water  depends  on  the  season  and  the  pmpose  of  the  feeding. 
For  stimulation  a  proportion  of  one-fourth  to  one-thii'd  sugar  by 
volume  is  enough,  and  for  faU  feeding,  especially  if  rather  late,  a  solu- 
tion containing  as  much  sugar  as  it  "will  hold  when  cold  is  best.  There 
seems  to  be  little  advantage  in  boiling  the  shup.  Tartaric  acid  in 
smtill  c^uantity  may  be  added  for  the  purpose  of  changing  pai't  of  the 
cane  sugar  to  invert  sugar,  thus  retarding  granulation.  The  medi- 
cation of  sirup  as  a  preventive  or  cm'e  of  brood  disease  is  often  prac- 
ticed, but  it  has  not  been  shown  that  such  a  procedure  is  of  am*  value. 
If  hone}'  is  fed,  it  should  be  diluted  somewhat,  the  amount  of  dilution 
depending  on  the  season.  If  robbmg  is  likely  to  occur,  feeding  should 
be  done  in  the  evening. 

Numerous  feeders  are  on  the  market,  adapted  for  different  purposes 
and  methods  of  manipulation  (fig^.  17,  IS,  19).  A  simple  feeder  can 
be  made  of  a  tin  pan  filled  with  excelsior  or  shavings  (fig.  20).  This 
is  filled  "svith  su'up  and  placed  on  top  of  the  frames  in  a  super  or  hive 
body.  It  is  advisable  to  lean  pieces  of  wood  on  the  pan  as  runways 
for  the  bees,  and  to  attract  them  fu^st  to  the  sirup,  either  by  mixing 
in  a  httle  honey  or  by  spilling  a  little  sirup  over  the  frames  and  sticks. 

It  may  be  stated  positively  that  it  does  not  pay  financially,  or  in 
any  other  way,  to  feed  sugar  su'up  to  be  stored  in  sections  and  sold  as 
comb  honey.  Of  course,  such  things  have  been  tried,  but  the  con- 
sumption of  sugar  during  the  storing  makes  the  cost  greater  than  the 
value  of  pure  floral  honey. 

SPRING     MANAGEMENT. 

The  condition  of  a  colony  of  bees  in  the  early  spring  depends 
largely  upon  the  care  given  the  bees  the  preceding  autumn  and  in 
the  method  of  wintering.  If  the  colony  has  x^intered  weU  and  has 
a  good  prolific  queen,  preferably  young,  the  chances  are  that  it  wiU 
become  strong  in  time  to  store  a  good  surplus  when  the  honey  flow 
comes. 

The  bees  which  come  through  the  winter,  reared  the  previous 
auturmi,  are  old  and  incapable  of  much  work.  As  the  season  opens 
they  go  out  to  collect  the  early  nectar  and  poUen,  and  also  care  for 
the  brood.  The  amount  of  brood  is  at  first  small,  and  as  the  new 
workers  emerge  thev  assist  in  the  brood  rearing  so  that  the  extent  of 

447 


BEES. 


27 


Fig.  17. 


-Division-board  feeder  to  be  hung  in  hive  in  place  of 
frame. 


the  brood  can  be  gradually  increased  until  it  reaches  its  maximum 
about  the  begiiming  of  the  summer.  The  old  bees  die  off  rapidly. 
If  brood  rearing  does  not  continue  late  in  the  fall,  so  that  the 
colony  goes  into  winter  with  a  large  percentage  of  young  bees,  the 
old  bees  may  die  off  in  the  spring  faster  than  they  are  replaced  by 
emerging  brood.  This  is  known  as ''spring  dwindling."  A  preven- 
tive remedy  for  this  may 
be  appUed  by  feeding,  if 
necessary,  the  autumn  be- 
fore, or  keeping  up  brood 
rearing  as  late  as  possible 
by  some  other  means. 

If  spring  dwindling  be- 
gins, however,  it  can  be 
diminished  somewhat  b}^ 
keeping  the  colony  warm 
and  by  stimulative  feed- 
ing, so  that  all  the  energy  of  the  old  bees  may  be  put  to  the  best 
advantage  in  rearing  brood  to  replace  those  d3'ing  oft'.  The  size  of 
the  brood  chamber  can  also  be  reduced  to  conserve  heat. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  when  a  hive  is  examined  in  the  spring 
the  hive  bodv  and  combs  are  spotted  ^Tith  bro^\^lish  yeUow  excrement. 
This  is  an  e^^dence  of  what  is  commonly  called  "d^'sentery."     The 

cause  of  tliis  trouble  is 
long  -  continued  confine- 
ment %vith  a  poor  c^uahty 
of  honey  for  food.  Honey- 
dew  honey  and  some  of 
the  inferior  floral  honeys 
contain  a  relatively  large 
percentage  of  material 
which  bees  can  not  digest, 
and,  if  they  are  not  able 
to  fly  for  some  time,  the 
mtestines  become  clogged 
^vith  faecal  matter  and  a 
diseased  condition  re- 
x'^  10    T.  ^      .,      u       ^    u.    u  ^  suits.    Worker  bees  never 

Fig.  18.— Feeder  set  in  coUar  under  hive  body. 

normafly  deposit  their  fae- 
ces in  the  hive.  The  ob^^ous  preventive  for  this  is  to  provide  the 
colony  mth  good  honey  or  sugar  sirup  the  previous  faU.  ^'Dys- 
entery" frequently  entirely  destroys  colonies,  but  if  the  bees  can 
puU  through  until  warm  days  permit  a  cleansing  flight  they  recover 
promptly. 
447 


28 


BEES. 


FiG.  19.- 


"Pepper-box''  feeder  for  use  on  top  of 
frames. 


Bees  should  not  be  handled  in  the  early  spring  any  more  than  neces- 
sary, for  to  open  a  hive  in  cool  weather  wastes  heat  and  may  even 
kill  the  brood  by  chilling.  The  hive  should  be  kept  as  warm  as 
possible  in  early  spring  as  an  aid  to  brood   rearing.     It   is   a  good 

practice  to  wrap  hives  in  hh<:1c  tar 
paper  in  the  spring,  not  only  that 
it  may  aid  in  conserving  the  heat 
of  the  colony,  but  in  holding  the 
suns  heat  rays  as  a  help  to  the 
warmth  of  the  hive.  This  wrap- 
ping should  be  put  on  as  soon  as 
an  early  examination  has  shown  the 
colony  to  be  in  good  condition,  and 
there  need  be  no  hurry  in  taking  it 
off.  A  black  wrapping  during  the 
winter  is  not  desirable,  as  it  might 
induce  brood  rearmg  too  early  and 
waste  the  strength  of  the  bees. 

As  a  further  stimulus  to  brood 
rearing,  stimulative  feeding  of  su- 
gar siinip  in  early  spring  may  be 
practiced.  This  produces  much  the  same  effect  as  a  hght  honey  flow 
does  and  the  results  are  often  good.  Others  prefer  to  give  the  bees 
such  a  large  supply  of  stores  in  the  fall  that  when  spring  comes  they 

will  have  an  abundance  for  brood  

rearing,  an^^.  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  disturb  them  in  cool 
wer-ther.  Both  ideas  are  good, 
but  judicious  stimulative  feedmg 
usually  more  than  pays  for  the  la- 
bor. Colonies  should  be  fed  late 
in  the  day,  so  that  the  bees  will 
not  fly  as  a  result  of  it,  and  so 
that  robbing  wiU  not  be  started. 
When  the  weather  is  warmer  and 
more  settled  the  brood  cluster 
may  be  artificially  enlarged  by 
spreading  the  frames  so  as  to 
insert  an  empty  comb  in  the  mid- 
dle. The  bees  will  attempt  to 
cover  all  the  brood  that  they 
aheady  had,  and  the  queen  will  at  once  begin  laying  in  the  newly 
inserted  comb,  thus  making  a  great  increase  in  the  brood.  This 
practice  is  desirable  when  carefully  done,  but  may  lead  to  serious 

447 


Fig.  20.— Pan  in  super  arranged  for  feeding. 


BEES.  29 

results  if  too  much  new  brood  is  produced.  A  beginner  had  better 
leave  the  quantity  of  brood  to  tlie  bees. 

It  is  desirable  earh'  in  the  season,  before  anv  preparations  are  made 
for  swarming,  to  go  through  the  apiary  and  cUp  one  wing  of  each 
queen  (see  p.  30).  This  should  be  done  before  the  hive  becomes  too 
populous.  It  is  perhaps  best  to  chp  c[ueens  as  the\'  are  introduced, 
but  some  colonies  may  rear  new  ones  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
owner,  and  a  spring  examination  will  insure  no  escaping  swarms. 
The  beginner  should  perhaps  be  warned  not  to  chp  the  wings  of  a 
virgin  queen. 

Queens  sometimes  die  during  the  winter  and  early  spring,  and  since 
there  is  no  brood  from  which  the  bees  can  replace  them,  the  C|ueenless 
colonies  are  ''hopelessly  queenless."  Such  colonies  are  usuaUy  rest- 
less and  are  not  active  in  poUen  gathering.  If,  on  opening  a  colony, 
it  is  foimd  to  be  without  a  queen  and  reduced  in  numbers,  it  should 
be  united  with  another  colony  by  smoking  both  vigorously  and  caging 
the  queen  in  the  queen-right  colony  for  a  day  or  two  to  prevent  her 
being  kiUed.  A  frame  or  two  of  brood  may  be  added  to  a  queenless 
colony,  not  only  to  increase  its  strength,  but  to  provide  young  brood 
from  wliich  they  can  rear  a  queen  Bee  keepers  in  the  North  can 
frequently  buy  queens  from  southern  breeders  early  in  the  spring  and 
naturally  this  is  better  than  leaving  the  colony  without  a  queen  until 
the  bees  can  rear  one,  as  it  is  important  that  there  be  no  stoppage  in 
brood  rearing  at  this  season. 

SWARM   MANAGEMENT   AND   INCREASE. 

The  excessive  rearing  of  brood  at  the  wrong  season  or  increase 
in  the  number  of  colonies  greatly  reduces  the  surplus  honey  crop  by 
consumption.  The  ideal  to  which  all  progressive  bee  keepers  work, 
when  operating  simply  for  honey,  is  to  stimulate  brood  rearing  to 
prepare  bees  for  gathering,  to  retard  breeding  when  it  is  less  desir- 
able, and  to  prevent  swarming.  Formerly  the  measure  of  success 
in  beekeeping  was  the  amount  of  increase  by  swarming,  but  this  is 
now  recognized  as  being  quite  the  contrary  of  success. 

The  stimulation  of  brood  rearing  in  the  spring,  however,  makes 
it  more  hkely  that  swarming  will  occur;  so  that  the  operator  must 
counteract  the  tendency  to  swarm.  This  is  especiaUy  true  in  comb- 
honey  production.  Very  few  succeed  in  entirely  preventing  swarm- 
ing, but  by  various  methods  the  situation  can  be  largeh*  controlled. 

When  a  swarm  issues,  it  usually  first  settles  on  a  limb  of  a  tree  or 
bush  near  the  apiary.  It  was  formerly  common  to  make  a  noise  by 
beating  pans  or  ringing  bells  in  the  behef  that  this  causes  the  swarm 
to  settle.  There  is  no  foundation  for  such  action  on  the  part  of  the 
bee  keeper.     If  the  bees  alight  on  a  smaU  limb  that  can  be  spared 

447 


30  BEES. 

it  ma}'  simply  be  sawed  off  and  the  bees  carried  to  the  liive  and 
thrown  on  a  sheet  or  hive  cover  in  front  of  the  entrance.  If  the 
limb  can  not  be  cut,  the  swann  can  be  shaken  off  into  a  box  or  basket 
on  a  pole  and  hived.  If  the  bees  hght  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree  or  in 
some  inaccessible  place  they  can  first  be  attracted  awa}'  by  a  comb, 
preferably  containing  unsealed  brood.  In  these  manipulations  it 
is  not  necessar}'  to  get  all  the  bees,  but  if  the  c|ueen  is  not  with  those 
which  are  put  into  the  hive  the  bees  will  go  into  the  air  again  and  join 
the  cluster. 

If  a  queen  is  clipped  as  recommended  under  "Spring  management" 
(p.  29)  the  swarm  wiU  issue  just  the  same,  but  the  queen,  not  being 
able  to  fly,  will  simply  wander  about  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the 
hive,  where  she  can  be  caught  and  caged.  The  parent  colony  can 
then  be  removed  to  a  new  stand  and  a  new  hive  put  in  its  place. 
The  bees  wiU  soon  return  and  the  queen  can  be  freed  among  them 
as  they  enter.  The  field  bees  on  returning  will  enter  the  new  hive 
with  the  swarm,  thus  decreasing  still  more  the  parent  colony  and 
making  a  second  swarm  less  probable.  To  make  sure  of  this,  how- 
ever, all  queen  cells  except  one  good  one  can  be  removed  soon  after 
the  swarm  issues.  Another  method  of  preventing  second  swarms  is 
to  set  the  old  hive  beside  the  swarm  and  in  a  week  move  the  old  hive 
to  another  place.  The  field  bees  of  the  parent  colony  then  join  the 
swarm  and  the  parent  colony  is  so  much  reduced  that  a  second 
swarm  does  not  issue. 

To  hold  a  swarm  it  is  desirable  to  put  one  frame  containing  healthy 
unsealed  brood  in  the  new  hive.  The  other  frames  may  contain  full 
sheets  or  starters  of  foundation.  Usually  comb-honey  supers  or  sur- 
plus bodies  for  extracting  frames  will  have  been  put  on  before  swarming 
occurs.  These  are  given  to  the  swarm  on  the  old  stand  and  separated 
from  the  brood  chamber  by  queen-excluding  perforated  zinc.  In  three 
or  four  days  the  perforated  zinc  may  be  removed  if  desired. 

When  clipping  the  queen's  wdng  is  not  practiced,  swarms  ma}^  be 
prevented  from  leaving  by  the  use  of  queen  traps  of  perforated  zinc 
(fig.  6).  These  allow  the  workers  to  pass  out,  but  not  drones  or 
queens,  which,  on  leaving  the  entrance,  pass  up  to  an  upper  com- 
partment from  which  they  can  not  return.  These  are  also  used  for 
keeping  undesirable  drones  from  escaping,  and  the  drones  die  of 
starvation.  ^ATien  a  swarm  issues  from  a  hive  provided  with  a  queen 
trap  the  queen  goes  to  the  upper  compartment  and  remains  there 
until  released  by  the  bee  keeper.  The  workers  soon  return  to  the 
hive.  "When  the  operator  discovers  the  queen  outside,  the  colony 
may  be  artificially  swarmed  to  prevent  another  attempt  at  natural 
swarming.  A  queen  trap  should  not  be  kept  on  the  hive  all  the  time 
for  fear  the  old  queen  may  be  superseded  and  the  young  queen  pre- 
vented from  flying  out  to  mate. 

447 


BEES.  31 

ABTmCIAI.    SWARMING 

If  increase  is  desired,  it  is  better  to  practice  some  method  of  arti- 
ficial swarming  and  to  forestall  natural  swarming  rather  than  be 
compelled  to  await  the  whims  of  the  colonies.  The  situation  should 
be  imder  the  control  of  the  bee  keeper  as  much  as  possible.  The 
bees,  combs,  and  brood  may  be  divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts 
and  a  queen  provided  for  the  queenless  portion;  or  small  colonies, 
called  nuclei,  may  be  made  from  the  parent  colony,  so  reducing  its 
strength  that  swarming  is  not  attempted.  These  plans  are  not  as 
satisfactory  as  shaken  swarms,  since  divided  colonies  lack  the  vigor 
of  swarms. 

A  good  method  of  artificially  swarming  a  colony  is  to  shake  most  of 
the  bees  from  the  combs  into  another  hive  on  the  old  stand  with 
starters  (narrow  strips)  of  foimdation.  The  hive  containing  the 
brood  with  some  bees  still  adhering  is  then  moved  to  a  new  location. 
If  receptacles  for  surplus  honey  have  been  put  on  previously,  as  they 
generally  should  be.  they  should  now  be  put  over  the  artificial  swarm 
separated  from  the  brood  compartment  by  perforated  zinc. 

This  method  of  artificially  swarming  (usually  called  by  bee  keepers 
'"shook"'  swarming)  should  not  be  practiced  too  early,  since  natural 
swarming  may  take  place  later.  The  colony  should  first  have  begim 
its  preparations  for  swarming.  The  method  is  particularly  usefid  in 
comb-honey  production.  The  bees  may  be  prevented  from  leaving 
the  hive  by  the  use  of  a  drone  trap  (fig.  6  >  or  by  putting  in  one  frame 
containing  unsealed  brood.  Some  bee  keepere  prefer  using  full 
sheets  of  foimdation  or  even  drawn  combs  for  the  artificial  swarm, 
but  narrow  strips  of  foundation  have  some  advjintages.  By  using 
narrow  strips  the  queen  has  no  cells  in  which  to  lay  eggs  for  a  time, 
thus  reducing  brood  rearing,  but,  since  by  the  time  artificial  swarm- 
ing is  practiced  the  profitable  brood  rearing  is  usually  over,  this  is  no 
loss  but  rather  a  gain.  There  are  also  in  the  brood  compartment  no 
cells  in  which  the  gathering  workers  can  deposit  fresh  honey,  and 
they  consequently  put  it  in  the  supers.  Gradually  the  combs  below 
are  built  out  and  brood  rearing  is  increased.  Later  the  colony  is 
allowed  to  put  honey  in  the  brood  combs  for  its  winter  supply.  If 
no  increase  is  desired,  the  bees  which  emerge  from  the  removed  brood 
combs  may  later  be  united  with  the  artificial  swarm  and  by  that  time 
there  will  usually  be  little  danger  of  natural  swarming. 

Artificial  swarming  can  readily  be  combined  with  the  shaking 
treatment  fo'-  bee  diseases,  thus  accomplishing  two  objects  with  one 
manipulation.  If  disease  is  present  in  the  parent  colony,  only  strips 
of  foundation  should  be  used  and  the  colony  should' be  confined  to 
the  hive  ^\-itll  a  queen  and  drone  trap  and  not  with  a  frame  of  brood. 


32  BEES. 

PREVENTION   OF    SWARMING. 

Unless  increase  is  particularly  desired,  both  natural  and  artificial 
swarming  should  be  done  away  with  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  the 
energ}'  of  the  bees  shall  go  into  the  gathering  of  honey.  Since 
crowded  and  overheated  hives  are  particularly  conducive  to  swarm- 
ing, this  tendency  may  be  largely  overcome  by  giving  plenty  of  ven- 
tilation and  additional  room  in  the  hive.  Shade  is  also  a  good  pre- 
ventive of  swarming.  Extra  space  in  the  hive  may  be  furnished  by 
adding  more  hive  bodies  and  frames  or  by  frequent  extracting,  so 
that  there  may  be  plenty  of  room  for  brood  rearing  and  storage  at 
aU  times.  These  manipulations  are,  of  course,  particularly  apphcable 
to  extracted-honey  production. 

To  curb  the  swarming  impulse  frequent  examinations  of  the  colo- 
nies (about  every  week  or  10  days  during  the  swarming  season) 
for  the  purpose  of  cutting  out  queen  cells  is  a  help,  but  this  requires 
considerable  work,  and  since  some  cells  may  be  overlooked,  and  par- 
ticularly since  it  frequently  fails  in  spite  of  the  greatest  care,  it  is 
not  usually  practiced.  Requeening  vnih  young  queens  early  in  the 
season,  when  possible,  generally  prevents  swarming. 

Swarming  is  largely  due  to  crowded  brood  chambers,  and  since 
eggs  laid  immediatel}'  before  and  during  the  honey  flow  do  not  pro- 
duce gatherers,  several  methods  have  been  tried  of  reducing  the 
brood.  The  queen  may  either  be  entirely  removed  or  be  caged  in  the 
hive  to  prevent  her  from  laying.  In  either  event  the  bees  wUl 
usually  build  queen  cells  to  replace  her,  and  these  must  be  kept  cut 
out.  These  plans  would  answer  the  purpose  very  well  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  queenless  colonies  often  do  not  work  vigorously. 
Under  most  circumstances  these  methods  can  not  be  recommended. 
A  better  method  is  to  remove  brood  about  swarming  time  and  thus 
reduce  the  amount.  There  are  generally  colonies  in  the  apiary  to 
which  frames  of  brood  can  be  given  to  advantage. 

In  addition  to  these  methods  various  nonswarming  devices  have 
been  invented,  and  later  a  nonswarming  hive  so  constructed  that 
there  is  no  opportunity  for  the  bees  to  form  a  dense  cluster.  The 
breeding  of  bees  by  selecting  colonies  with  less  tendency  to  swarm 
has  been  suggested. 

On  the  whole,  the  best  methods  are  the  giving  of  plenty  of  room, 
shade,  and  ventilation  to  colonies  run  for  extracted  honey;  and  ven- 
tilation, shade,  and  artificial  swarming  of  colonies  run  for  comb 
honey.  Frequent  requeening  (about  once  in  two  years)  is  desirable 
for  other  reasons,  and  requeening  before  swarming  time  helps  in  the 
solution  of  that  diSiculty, 

447 


BEES.  S3 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  HARVEST. 

An  essential  in  honey  production  is  to  have  the  hive  overflowing 
with  bees  at  the  beginning  of  the  honey  flow,  so  that  the  field  force 
will  be  large  enough  to  gather  more  honey  than  the  bees  need  for 
their  own  use.  To  accomplish  this,  the  bee  keeper  must  see  to  it  that 
brood  rearing  is  heavy  some  time  before  the  harvest,  and  he  must 
know  accurately  when  the  honey  flows  come,  so  that  he  may  time 
his  manipulations  properly.  Brood  rearing  during  the  honey  flow 
usually  produces  bees  which  consume  stores,  while  brood  reared 
before  the  flow  furnishes  the  surplus  gatherers.  The  best  methods 
of  procedure  may  be  illustrated  by  giving  as  an  example  the  condi- 
tions in  the  white-clover  region. 

In  the  spring  the  bees  gather  pollen  and  nectar  from  various 
early  flowers,  and  often  a  considerable  quantity  from  fruit  bloom 
and  dandelions.  During  this  time  brood  rearing  is  stimulated  by 
the  new  honey,  but  afterwards  there  is  usually  a  period  of  drought 
when  brood  rearing  is  normally  diminished  or  no't  still  more  increased 
as  it  should  be.  This  condition  continues  until  the  white-clover 
flow  comes  on,  usually  with  a  rush,  when  brood  rearing  is  again 
augmented.  If  such  a  condition  exists,  the  bee  keeper  should 
keep  brood  rearing  at  a  maximum  by  stimulative  feeding  during 
the  drought.  When  white  clover  comes  in  bloom  he  may  even  find 
it  desirable  to  prevent  brood  rearing  to  turn  the  attention  of  his 
bees  to  gathering. 

A  worker  bee  emerges  from  its  cell  21  days  after  the  egg  is  laid,  and 
it  usually  begins  field  work  in  from  14  to  17  days  later.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  an  egg  must  be  laid  five  weeks  before  the  honey  flow 
to  produce  a  gatherer.  Since  the  flow  continues  for  some  time  and 
since  bees  often  go  to  the  field  earlier  than  14  days,  egg  laying  should 
be  pushed  up  to  within  two  or  three  weeks  of  the  opening  of  the  honey 
flow.  In  addition  to  stimulative  feeding,  the  care  of  the  colony 
described  under  the  heading  of  "Spring  management"  (p.  26)  will 
increase  brood  production. 

THE   PRODUCTION   OF   HONEY. 

The  obtaining  of  honey  from  bees  is  generally  the  primary  object 
of  their  culture.  Bees  gather  nectar  to  make  into  honey  for  their 
own  use  as  food,  but  generally  store  more  than  they  need,  and  this 
surplus  the  bee  keeper  takes  away.  B}^  managing  colonies  early  in 
the  spring  as  previously  described  the  surplus  may  be  considerably 
increased.  The  secret  of  maximum  crops  is  to  "Keep  all  colonies 
strong." 

Honey  is  gathered  in  the  form  of  nectar  secreted  by  various  flowers, 
is  transformed  by  the  bees,  and  stored  in  the  comb.     Bees  also  often 


34  .  BEES. 

gather  a  sweet  liquid  called  "honeydew,"  produced  by  rarious  scale 
insects  and  plant-lice,  but  the  honeydew  honey  made  from  it  is 
quite  unlike  floral  honey  in  flavor  and  composition  and  should  not  be 
sold  for  honey.  It  is  usually  unpalatable  and  should  never  be  used 
as  winter  food  for  bees,  since  it  usually  causes  dysentery  (p.  40). 
When  nectar  or  honeydew  has  been  thickened  by  evaporation  and 
otherwise  changed,  the  honey  is  sealed  in  the  cells  with  cappings  of 
beeswax. 

It  is  not  profitable  to  cultivate  any  plant  solely  for  the  nectar 
which  it  will  produce,  but  various"  plants,  such  as  clovers,  alfalfa, 
and  buckwheat,  are  valuable  for  other  purposes  and  are  at  the  same 
time  exceUent  honey  plants;  their  cultivation  is  therefore  a  benefit 
to  the  bee  keeper.  It  is  often  profitable  to  sow  some  plant  on  waste 
land;  sweet  clovers  are  often  used  in  this  way.  The  majority  of 
honey-producing  plants  are  wild,  and  the  bee  keeper  must  largely 
accept  the  locafity  as  he  finds  it  and  manage  his  apiary  so  as  to  get  the 
largest  possible  amount  of  the  available  nectar.  Since  bees  often  fly 
as  far  as  2  or  3  miles  to  obtain  nectar,  it  is  obvious  that  the  bee 
keeper  can  rarely  influence  the  nectar  supply  appreciably.     Before 

deciding  what  kind  of  honey 
to  produce  the  bee  keeper 
should  have  a  clear  knowl- 
edge of  the  honey  resources 
of  his  locality  and  of  the 
demands  of  the  market  in 
which  he  will  sell  his  crop. 
If  the  bxilk  of  the  honey  is  dark,  or  if  the  main  honey  flows  are  slow 
and  protracted,  it  will  not  pay  to  produce  comb  honey,  since  the 
production  of  fancy  comb  honey  depends  on  a  rapid  flow.  The  best 
localities  for  comb-honey  production  are  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
»  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  where  white  clover  is  a 
rapid  and  abundant  yielder.  Other  parts  of  the  United  States  where 
similar  conditions  of  rapidity  of  flow  exist  are  also  good.  Unless 
these  favorable  conditions  are  present  it  is  better  to  produce  extracted 
honev. 

EXTRACTED   HONEY.> 

Extracted  honey  is  honey  which  has  been  j-emoved  by  means  of 
centrifugal  force  from  the  combs  in  which  the  bees  stored  it.  Wliile  it 
is  possible  to  adulterate  extracted  honey  b}'  tlie  addition  of  cheap 
sirups,  this  is  rarely  done,  perhaps  largely  on  account  of  the  possi- 
bihty  of  detection.  It  may  be  said  to  the  credit  of  bee  keepers  as  a 
class  that  they  have  always  opposed  adulteration  of  honey. 

I  For  farther  discussion  of  the  producoon  and  care  of  extracted  honey,  see  Bulletin  75,  Part  I,  Bureau 
of  Entomology. 
«7 


Fig.  21.— KjDlvffi  for  uncapping  honey. 


BEES. 


35 


In  providing  combs  for  the  storage  of  honey  to  be  extracted  the 
usual  practice  is  to  add  to  the  top  of  the  brood  chamber  one  or  more 
hive  bodies  just  hke  the  one  in  which  brood  is  reared,  and  fill  these 
\^dth  frames.  If  preferred,  shallower  frames  with  bodies  of  proper 
size  may  be  used,  but  most  honey  extractors  are  made  for  full-size 
frames.  The  surplus  bodies  should  be  put  on  in  plenty  of  time  to 
prevent  the  crowding  of  the  brood  chamber,  and  also  to  act  as  a 
preventive  of  swarming. 

Honey  for  extracting  should  not  be  removed  until  it  is  well  ripened 
and  a  large  percentage  of  it  capped.  It  is  best,  however,  to  remove 
the  crop  from  each  honey  flow  before  another  heavy  producing  plant 
comes  into  bloom,  so  that  the  different  grades  of  hone}^  may  be  kept 
separate.  It  is  better  to  extract  while  honey  is  still  coming  in,  so 
that  the  bees  will  not  be  apt  to  rob. 
The  extracting  should  be  done  in  a 
building,  preferably  one  provided  with 
wire  cloth  at  the  "vvdndows  Cp-  9). 

The  frames  containing  honey  to  be 
extracted  are  removed  from  the  hive, 
the  cappings  cut  off  with  a  sharp, 
warm  knife  (fig.  21)  made  specially 
for  this  purpose,  and  the  frames  are 
then  put  into  the  baskets  of  the  honey 
extractor  (fig.  22) .  By  revolving  these 
rapidly  the  honey  ic  thro\vn  out  of 
one  side.  The  basket  is  then  reversed 
and  the  honey  from  the  other  side  is 
removed.  The  combs  can  then  be 
returned  to  the  bees  to  be  refilled,  or 
if  the  honey  flow  is  over,  they  can  be 
returned  to  the  bees  to  be  cleaned  and 
then  removed  and  stored  until  needed 
again.  This  method  is  much  to  be  preferred  to  mashing  the  comb  and 
straining  out  the  honey,  as  was  formerly  done. 

In  large  apiaries  special  boxes  to  receive  cappings,  capping  melters 
to  render  the  cappings  directly  into  wax,  and  power-driven  extractors 
are  often  used.     These  will  be  found  listed  in  supply  catalogues. 

The  extracted  honey  is  then  strained  and  run  into  vessels.  It  is 
advisable  not  to  put  it  in  bottles  at  once,  but  to  let  it  settle  in  open 
vessels  for  a  time,  so  that  it  can  be  skimmed.  Most  honeys  will 
granulate  and  become  quite  hard  if  exposed  to  changes  of  temperature, 
and  to  liquefy  granulated  extracted  honey  it  should  be  heated  in  a 
water  bath.  Never  heat  honey  directly  over  a  stove  or  flame,  as  the 
flavor  is  thereby  injured.     The  honey  should  never  be  heated  higher 

447 


Fig.  22.— Honey  extractor. 


36  BEES. 

than  160°  F.  unless  it  is  necessary  to  sterilize  it  because  of  contami- 
nation by  disease. 

Extracted  honey  is  put  up  in  bottles  or  small  tin  cans  for  the  retail 
trade,  and  in  o-gallon  square  tin  cans  or  barrels  for  the  wholesale 
market.  Great  care  must  be  exercised  if  barrels  are  used,  as  honey 
^^nll  absorb  moisture  from  the  wood,  if  any  is  present,  and  cause 
leakage.  The  tin  package  is  much  to  be  preferred  in  most  ca'aes.  In 
bottling  honey  for  retail  trade,  it  will  well  repay  the  bee  keeper  or 
bottler  to  go  to  considerable  expense  and  trouble  to  make  an  attractive 
package,  as  the  increased  price  received  ^vill  more  than  compensate 
for  the  increased  labor  and  expense.  Honey  should  be  heated  to 
160°  F.  and  kept  there  for  a  time  before  bottling,  and  the  bottle 
should  be  filled  as  full  as  possible  and  sealed  hermetically. 

Granulated  honey. — Some  honeys,  such  as  alfalfa,  granulate  quickly 
after  being  extracted.  Such  honeys  are  sometimes  allowed  to  gran- 
ulate in  large  cans  and  the  semisohd  mass  is  then  cut  into  1-pound 
bricks  like  a  butter  print  and  wrapped  in  paraflSn  paper.  It  may  be 
put  into  paraffined  receptacles  before  granulation,  if  desired.  There 
is  always  a  ready  market  for  granulated  honey,  since  many  people 
prefer  it  to  the  liquid  honey. 

COMB    HONEY. 

Comb  honey  is  honey  as  stored  in  the  comb  by  the  bees,  the  size  and 
shape  being  determined  by  the  small  wooden  sections  provided  by  the 
bee  keeper.  Instead  of  having  comb  in  large  frames  in  wliich  to  store 
suiplus  honey,  the  bees  are  compelled  to  build  comb  in  the  sections 
and  to  store  honey  there  (fig.  2).  A  fuU  section  weighs  about  1  pound ; 
larger  ones  are  rarely  used.  By  the  use  of  modern  sections  and  foun- 
dation the  comb  honey  now  produced  is  a  truly  beautiful,  very  uni- 
form product,  so  uniform  in  fact  that  it  is  often  charged  that  it  must 
be  artificially  manufactured.  The  purchaser  of  a  section  of  comb 
honey  may  be  absolutely  certain,  however,  that  he  is  obtaining  a 
product  of  the  bees,  for  never  has  anyone  been  able  to  imitate  the  bees' 
work  successfully.  To  show  their  confidence  in  the  purity  of  comb 
honey,  the  National  Bee  Keepers'  Association  offers  SI. 000  for  a 
single  pound  of  artificial  comb  filled  with  an  artificially  prepared  sirup, 
wliich  is  at  aU  difficult  of  detection. 

There  are  several  different  styles  of  sections  now  in  use,  the  usual 
sizes  being  4\  inches  square  and  4  by  5  inches.  There  are  also 
two  methods  of  spacing,  so  that  there  will  be  room  for  the  passage  of 
bees  from  the  brood  chamber  into  the  sections  and  from  one  super  of 
sections  to  another.  This  is  done  either  by  cutting  "bee  ways" 
in  the  sections  and  using  plain  flat  separators  or  by  using  ''no  bee- 
way"  or  plain  sections  and  using  "fences" — separators  with  cleats 
fastened  on  each  side,   to  provide  the  bee  space.     To  describe  all 

447 


BEES.  -  37 

the  different  "supers"  or  bodies  for  holding  sections  would  be  im- 
possible in  a  bulletin  of  this  size,  and  the  reader  must  be  referred  to 
catalogues  of  dealers  in  beekeeping  suppHes.  Instead  of  using  regu- 
lar comb-honey  supers,  some  bee  keepers  use  wide  frames  to  hold  two 
tiers  of  sections.  It  is  better,  however,  to  have  the  supers  smaller,  so 
that  the  bees  may  be  crowded  more  to  produce  full  sections.  To 
overcome  this  difficulty,  shallow  "w^de  frames  holding  one  tier  of  sec- 
tions may  be  used.  The  majority  of  bee  keepers  find  it  advisable  to 
use  special  comb-honey  supers. 

In  producing  comb  honey  it  is  even  more  necessary  to  know  the 
plants  which  produce  surplus  honey,  and  just  when  they  come  in 
bloom,  than  it  is  in  extracted  honey  production.  The  colony  should 
be  so  manipulated  that  the  maximum  field  force  is  ready  for  the 
beginning  of  the  flow.  This  requires  care  in  spring  management, 
and,  above  aU,  the  prevention  of  swarming.  Supers  should  be  put 
on  just  before  the  heavy  flow  begins.  A  good  indication  of  the  need 
of  supers  is  the  whitening  of  the  brood  combs  at  the  top.  If  the  bees 
are  in  two  hive-bodies  they  should  generally  be  reduced  to  one,  and 
the  frames  should  be  filled  ^vith  brood  and  honey  so  that  as  the  new 
crop  comes  in  the  bees  wifl  carry  it  immediately  to  the  sections  above. 
li  large  hives  are  used  for  the  brood  chamber  it  is  often  advisable 
to  remove  some  of  the  frames  and  use  a  division  board  to  crowd  the 
bees  above.  To  prevent  the  queen  from  going  into  the  sections  to 
lay,  a  sheet  of  perforated  zinc  (fig.  23)  may  be  put  between  the  brood 
chamber  and  the  super  (fig.  2). 

It  is  often  difficult  to  get  bees  to  begin  work  in  the  small  sections, 
but  this  should  be  brought  about  as  soon  as  possible  to  prevent  loss 
of  honey.  If  there  are  at  hand  some  sections  which  have  been  partly 
drawn  the  previous  3'ear,  these  may  be  put  in  the  super  with  the 
new  sections  as  ''bait."  Another  good  plan  is  to  put  a  shallow 
extracting  frame  on  either  side  of  the  sections.  If  a  few  colonies 
in  the  apiary  that  are  strong  enough  to  go  above  refuse  to  do  so,  lift 
supers  from  some  colonies  that  have  started  to  work  above  and  give 
them  to  the  slow  colonies.  The  super  should  generall}^  be  shaded 
somewhat  to  keep  it  from  getting  too  hot.  Artificial  swarming  vrHl 
quickly  force  bees  into  the  supers. 

To  produce  the  finest  quahty  of  comb  honey  full  sheets  of  founda- 
tion should  be  used  in  the  sections.  Some  bee  keepers  use  nearly  a 
full  sheet  hung  from  the  top  of  the  section  and  a  narrow  bottom 
starter.     The  use  of  foundation  of  worker-cell  size  is  much  preferred. 

^Mien  one  super  becomes  half  full  or  more  and  there  are  inchcations 
that  there  will  be  honey  enough  to  fill  others,  the  first  one  should  be 
raised  and  an  empty  one  put  on  the  hive  imder  it.  This  tiering  up 
can  be  continued  as  long  as  necessary,  but  it  is  advisable  to  remove 
filled  sections  as  soon  as  possible  after  they  are  nicely  capped,  for 

447 


38 


BEES. 


thev  soon  become  discolored  and  less  attractive.  Honey  removed 
immediately  after  capping  finds  a  better  market,  but  if  left  on  the 
hive  even  until  the  end  of  the  summer  the  quahty  of  the  honey  is 
improved.  A  careful  watch  must  be  kept  on  the  honey  flow,  so  as  to 
give  the  bees  only  enough  sections  to  store  the  crop.  If  this  is  not 
done  a  lot  of  unfinished  sections  will  be  left  at  the  end  of  the  flow. 

Honeys  from  different  sources 
should  not  be  mixed  in  the  sections, 
as  it  usually  gives  the  comb  a  bad 
appearance 

To  remove  bees  from  sections, 
the  super  may  be  put  over  a  bee 
escape  so  that  the  bees  can  pass 
down  but  can  not  return,  or  the 
supers  may  be  removed  and  cov- 
ered A^-itli  a  wire  -  cloth  -  cone  bee 
escape. 

After  sections  are  removed  the 
wood  should  be  scraped  free  of 
propolis  (bee  glue)  and  then  packed 
in  shipping  cases  (fig.  24)  for  the 
market.      Shipping   cases  to   hold 

Fig.  23.-Perforated  zinc  queen  excluder.  ^o^  O-i,  Or  4S  SCCtioUS,  in  which   the 

various  styles  of  sections  fit  exactly,  are  manufactured  by  dealers 
in  supphes.  In  shipping  these  cases,  several  of  them  should  be  put 
in  a  box  or  crate  packed  in  straw  and  paper  and  handles  provided  to 
reduce  the  chances  of  breakage.  When  loaded  in  a  freight  car  the 
combs  should  be  parallel 
with  the  length  of  the 
car. 

In  preparing  comb 
honey  for  market  it 
should  be  carefully 
graded  so  that  the  sec- 
tions in  each  shipping 
case  are  as  uniform  as 
possible.  Nothing  will 
more  Ukely  cause  whole- 
sale purchasers  to  cut  the 
price  than  to  find  the  first 
row  of  sections  in  a  case  fancy  and  those  behind  of  inferior  grade. 
Grading  rules  have  been  adopted  by  various  bee  keepers'  associa- 
tions or  drawn  up  by  honey  dealers.  The  following  sets  of  rules  are 
in  general  use: 

447 


A^sg^j^-g^ja  4^W*='^;!'^^  •  !*¥-.'L'w*?ggpw»gsiiyiiw^ 


IK. 


Fig.  24. 


^ei  lor  comb  honey. 


BEES.  39 

Eastern  Grading  Rules  for  Comb  Honey. 

Fancy. — All  sections  -well  filled;  combs  straight;  firmly  attached  to  all  four  sides; 
the  combs  unsoiled  by  travel,  stain,  or  otherwise;  all  the  cells  sealed  except  an  occa- 
sional one;  the  outside  siuiace  of  the  wood  well  scraped  of  propolis. 

A  No.  1. — All  sections  well  filled  except  the  row  of  cells  next  to  the  wood;  comba 
straight;  one-eighth  part  of  comb  surface  soiled,  or  the  entire  surface  slightly  soiled; 
the  outside  surface  of  the  wood  well  scraped  of  propolis. 

No.  1. — All  sections  well  filled  except  the  row  of  cells  next  to  the  wood;  combs 
comparatively  even;  one-eighth  part  of  comb  siurface  soiled,  or  the  entire  surface 
slightly  soiled. 

No.  2. — Three-fourths  of  the  total  surface  must  be  filled  and  sealed. 

No.  3. — Must  weigh  at  least  half  as  much  as  a  full-weight  section. 

In  addition  to  this  the  honey  is  to  be  classified  according  to  color,  using  the  terms 
white,  amber,  and  dark;  that  is,  there  will  be  " Fancy  White, "  "No.  1  Dark,"  etc. 

New  Comb-Honey  Grading  Rules  Adopted  by  the  Colorado  State  Bee 
Keepers'  Association. 

No.  1  White. — Sections  to  be  well  filled  and  evenly  capped,  except  the  outside  row, 
next  to  the  wood ;  honey  white  or  slightly  amber,  comb  and  cappings  white,  and  not 
projecting  beyond  the  wood;  wood  to  be  well  cleaned;  cases  of  separatored  honey  to 
average  21  poimds  net  per  case  of  24  sections;  no  section  in  this  grade  to  weigh  less  than 
13^  ounces.  Cases  of  half-separatored  honey  to  average  not  less  than  22  pounds  net 
per  case  of  24  sections.  Cases  of  unseparatored  honey  to  average  not  less  than  23 
pounds  net  per  case  of  24  sections. 

No.  1  Light  Amber. — Sections  to  be  well  filled  and  evenly  capped,  except  the  out- 
side row  next  to  the  wood ;  honey  white  or  light  amber;  comb  and  cappings  from  white 
to  off  color,  but  not  dark;  comb  not  projecting  beyond  the  wood;  wood  to  be  well 
cleaned.  Cases  of  separatored  honey  to  average  21  pounds  net  per  case  of  24  sections; 
no  section  in  this  grade  to  weigh  less  than  13J  ounces.  Cases  of  half-separatored  honey 
to  average  not  less  than  22  pounds  net  per  case  of  2^  sections.  Cases  of  unseparatored 
honey  to  average  not  less  than  23  pounds  net  per  case  of  24  sections. 

No.  2. — This  includes  all  white  honey,  and  amber  honey  not  included  in  the  above 
grades;  sections  to  be  fairly  well  filled  and  capped,  no  more  than  25  uncapped  cells, 
exclusive  of  outside  row,  permitted  in  this  grade;  wood  to  be  well  cleaned;  no  section 
in  this  grade  to  weigh  less  than  12  ounces.  Cases  of  separatored  honey  to  average 
not  less  than  19  pounds  net.  Cases  of  half-separatored  honey  to  average  not  less  than 
20  pounds  net  per  case  of  24  sections.  Cases  of  unseparatored  honey  to  average  not 
less  than  21  pounds  net  per  case  of  24  sections. 

THE  PRODUCTION'  OF  WAX. 

Beeswax,  which  is  secreted  by  the  bees  and  used  by  them  for 
building  their  combs,  is  an  important  commercial  product.  Jhere 
are  times  in  almost  every  apiary  when  there  are  combs  to  be  melted 
up,  and  it  pays  to  take  care  of  even  scraps  of  comb  and  the  cappings 
taken  off  in  extracting.  A  common  method  ot  taking  out  the  wax 
is  to  melt  the  combs  in  a  solar  wax  extractor.  This  is  perhaps  the 
most  feasible  method  where  little  wax  is  produced,  but  considerable 
wax  still  remains  in  old  brood  combs  after  such  heating.  Various 
wax  presses  are  on  the  market,  or  one  can  be  made  at  home.  If  much 
wax  is  produced,  the  bee  keeper  shoald  make  a  careful  study  of  the 
methods  of  wax  extraction,  as  there  is  usually  much  wax  wasted  even 
after  pressing. 

447 


40  BEES. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  WINTERING. 

After  the  main  honey  flow  is  over  the  management  must  depend 
on  what  may  be  expected  hiter  in  the  season  from  minor  honey  flows. 
If  no  crop  is  to  be  expected,  the  colony  may  well  be  kept  only  mod- 
erately strong,  so  that  there  ^vill  not  be  so  many  cons^imers  in  the 
hive. 

In  localities  where  winters  are  severe  and  breeding  is  suspended 
for  several  months  great  care  should  be  taken  that  brood  rearing 
is  rather  active  during  the  late  sunmier,  so  that  the  colony  may  go 
into  winter  with  plenty  of  young  bees.  In  case  any  queens  show 
lack  oi  vitahty  they  should  be  replaced  early,  so  that  the  bees  -svill 
not  become  queenless  during  the  winter. 

The  important  considerations  in  wintering  are  plenty  of  young 
bees,  a  good  queen,  plenty  of  stores  of  good  quahty,  sound  Lives, 
and  proper  protection  from  cold  and-  dampness. 

If,  as  cold  weather  approaches,  the  bees  do  not  have  stores  enough, 
they  must  be  fed.  Every  colon}-  should  have  from  25  to  40  pounds, 
depending  on  the  length  of  winter  and  the  methods  of  wintering. 
It  is  better  to  have  too  much  honey  than  not  enough,  for  what  is  left 
is  gpod  next  season.  If  feeding  is  practiced,  honey  may  be  used,  ^ut 
sirup  made  of  granulated  sugar  is  just  as  good  and  is  peifectly  safe. 
If  honey  is  purchased  for  feeding,  great  care  should  be  taken  that  it 
comes  from  a  healthy  apiary,  otherwise  the  apiarV  may  be  ruined 
by  disease.  Never  feed  Jioney  hought  on  the  open  market.  The  bees 
should  be  provided  with  stores  early  enough  so  that  it  wiU  not  be 
necessary  to  feed  or  to  open  the  colonies  after  cold  weather  comes 
on.  Honeydew  honey  should  not  be  left  in  the  hives,  as  it  produces 
''dysentery."  Some  honeys  are  also  not  ideal  for  winter  stores. 
Those  which  show  a  high  percentage  of  gums  (most  tree  honeys)  are 
not  so  desirable,  but  will  usuaUy  cause  no  trouble. 

In  wintering  out  of  doors  the  amount  of  protection  depends  on 
the  severity  of  the  winter.  In  the  South  no  packing  is  necessary, 
and  even  in  very  cold  climates  good  colonies  ^;^'ith  plenty  of  stores 
can  often  pass  the  \\'inter  with  httle  protection,  but  packing  and 
protection  make  it  necessary  for  the  bees  to  generate  less  heat,  and  con- 
sequently they  consume  less  stores  and  their  vitahty  is  not  reduced. 
Dampness  is  probably  harder  for  bees  to  withstand  than  cold,  and 
when  it  is  considered  that  bees  give  off  considerable  moisture,  pre- 
cautions should  be  taken  that  as  it  condenses  it  does  not  get  on  the 
cluster.  An  opening  at  the  top  would  allow  the  moisture  to  pass 
out,  but  it  would  also  waste  heat,  so  it  is  better  to  put  a  mat  of 
burlap  or  other  absorbent  material  on  top  of  the  frames.  The  hive 
may  also  be  packed  in  chaff,  leaves,  or  other  similar  dry  material  to 
diminish  the  loss  of  heat.     Some  liives  are  made  with  double  walls, 

447 


BEES. 


41 


the  space  being  filled  with  chaff;  these  are  good  for  outdoor  winter- 
ing. The  hive  entrance  should  be  lower  than  any  other  part  of  the 
hive,  so  that  any  condensed  moisture  may  run  out.  The  hives 
should  be  sound  and  the  covers  tight  and  waterproof. 

Entrances  should  be  contracted  in  cold  weather  not  only  to  keep 
out  cold  wind,  but  to  prevent  mice  from  entering.  There  should 
always  be  enough  room,  however,  for  bees  to  pass  in  and  out  if 
warmer  weather  permits  a  fhght. 

In  the  hands  of  experienced  bee  keepers  cellar  wintering  is  very 
successful,  but  this  method  requires  careful  study.  The  cellar  must 
be  dry  and  so  protected  that  the  temperature  never  varies  more  than 
from '40  to  45°  F.;  43°  F.  seems  to  be  the  optimum  temperature. 
The  ventilation  must  be  good  or  the  bees  become  fi-etful.  Light 
should  not  be  admitted  to  the  cellar,  and  conseciuently  some  means 
of  indirect  ventilation  is  necessary. 

Cellar  wintering  requires  the  consumption  of  less  honey  to  main- 
tain the  proper  temperature  in  the  cluster  and  is  therefore  econom- 
ical. Bees  so  wmtered  do  not  have  an  opportunity  for  a  cleansing 
flight,  often  for  several  months,  but  the  low  consumption  makes 
this  less  necessary.  Some  bee  keepers  advocate  carrying  the  colonies 
out  a  few  times  on  warm  da\-s,  but  it  is  not  fully  estabhshed  whether 
this  is  entirely  beneficial  and  it  is  usually  not  practiced. 

The  time  for  putting  colonies  in  the  cellar  is  a  point  of  dispute, 
and  practice  in  this  regard  varies  considerably.  They  should  cer- 
tainly be  put  in  before  the  weather  becomes  severe  and  as  soon  as 
they  have  ceased  brood  rearing.  The  time  chosen  may  be  at  night 
when  they  are  all  in  the  hive,  or  on  some  chilly  day. 

The  hives  may  be  piled  one  on  top  of  the  other,  the  lower  tier 
raised  a  httle  from  the  floor.  The  entrances  should  not  be  con- 
tracted unless  the  colony  is  comparatively  weak.  It  is  usually  not 
considered  good  policy  to  close  the  entrances  -vs-ith  ordinary  wire 
cloth,  as  the  dead  bees  which  accumulate  more  or  less  on  the  bottom 
boards  may  cut  off  ventilation,  and  the  entrance  should  be  free  so 
that  these  may  be  cleaned  out. 

It  is,  however,  good  policy  to  cover  the  entrance  with  wire  cloth 
having  three  meshes  to  the  inch  to  keep  out  mice. 

The  time  of  removing  bees  from  the  cellar  is  less  easily  deter- 
mined than  that  of  putting  them  in.  The  colonies  may  be  removed 
early  and  wrapped  in  UacTc  tar  paper  or  left  until  the  weather  is 
settled.  If  the  weather  is  very  warm  and  the  bees  become  fretful, 
the  cellar  must  either  be  cooled  or  the  bees  removed.  Some  bee 
keepers  prefer  to  remove  bees  at  night,  so  that  they  can  recover 
from  the  excitement  and  fly  from  the  hive  normally  in  the  mornmg. 
One  of  the  chief  difficulties  is  to  prevent  the  bees  from  getting  into 
the  wrong  hives  after  their  first  flights.     They  often  "drift"  badly 


447 


4 '2  BEES. 

witli  the  wind,  and  sometimes  an  outside  row  will  become  abnor- 
mally strong,  leaving  other  colonies  weak. 

The  night  before  the  bees  are  removed  from  the  cellar  it  is  good 
practice  to  leave  the  cellar  doors  and  windows  wide  open. 

DISEASES   AKD    ENEMIES. 

There  are  two  infectious  diseases  of  the  brood  of  bees  which  cause 
great  losses  to  the  beekeeping  industry  of  the  United  States.  These 
are  known  as  American  foul  brood  and  European  foul  brood.  Both 
of  these  diseases  destroy  colonies  by  killing  the  brood,  so  that  there 
are  not  enough  young  bees  emerging  to  take  the  place  of  the  old 
adult  bees  as  these  die  from  natural  causes.  The  adult  bees  are 
not  attacked  by  either  disease.  In  the  hands  of  careful  bee  keepers 
both  diseases  may  be  controlled,  and  this  requires  careful  study  and 
constant  watching.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  these  diseases  are  now 
widely  distributed  throughout  the  United  States,  every  bee  keeper 
should  read  the  available  hterature  on  the  subject,  so  that  if  disease 
enters  his  apiary  he  may  be  able  to  recognize  it  before  it  gets  a  start. 
The  symptoms  and  the  treatment  recommended  by  this  depart- 
ment are  given  in  another  pubhcation  which  wiU  be  sent  free  on 
request.^ 

It  is  difficult  for  a  bee  keeper  to  keep  his  apiary  free  from  disease 
if  others  about  him  have  diseased  colonies  which  are  not  properly 
treated.  The  only  way  to  keep  disease  under  control  is  for  the 
bee  keepers  in  the  neighborhood  to  cooperate  in  doing  everything 
pyossible  to  stamp  out  disease  as  soon  as  it  appears  in  a  single  colony. 
The  progressive  bee  keeper  who  learns  of  disease  in  his  neighborhood 
should  see  to  it  that  the  other  bee  keepers  around  him  are  supphed 
with  hterature  describing  symptoms  and  treatment,  and  should  also 
try  to  induce  them  to  unite  in  eradicating  the  malady.  Since  it  is 
so  often  impossible  to  get  aU  of  the  bee  keepers  in  a  community 
to  treat  infected  colonies  properly  and  promptly,  it  is  desirable 
that  the  States  pass  laws  providing  for  the  inspection  of  apiaries  and 
granting  to  the  inspector  the  power  to  compel  negligent  bee  keepers 
to  treat  diseased  colonies  so  that  the  property  of  others  may  not  be 
endangered  and  destroyed.  This  has  been  done  in  a  number  of 
States,  but  there  are  stiU  some  where  the  need  is  great  and  in  which 
no  such  provision  has  been  made.  When  no  inspection  is  provided, 
bee  keepers  should  unite  in  asking  for  such  protection,  so  that  the 
danger  to  the  industry  may  be  lessened. 

In  case  there  is  an  inspector  for  the  State  or  county,  he  should 
be  notified  as  soon  as  disease  is  suspected  in  the  neighborhood. 
Some  bee  keepers  hesitate  to  report  disease  through  fear  that  the 

iFannos'  BnlletinXo. 442. "TbeTieatinento(BeeDiseaae&'' 
447 


BEES.  43 

inspector  -will  destroy  their  bees  or  because  they  feel  that  it  is  a 
disgrace  to  have  disease  in  the  apiary.  There  is  no  disgrace  in  having 
colonies  become  diseased;  the  discredit  is  in  not  treating  them 
promptly.  The  inspectors  are  usually,  if  not  universally,  good 
practical  bee  keepers  who  from  a  wide  experience  are  able  to  tell 
what  should  be  done  in  individual  cases  to  give  the  best  results 
with  the  least  cost  in  material  and  labor.  They  do  not  destroy  col- 
onies needlessly,  and,  in  fact,  they  all  advocate  and  teach  treatment. 

The  brood  diseases  are  frequently  introduced  into  a  locality  by  the 
shipping  in  of  diseased  colonies;  or,  more  often,  the  bees  get  honey 
from  infected  colonies  which  is  fed  to  them,  or  which  they  rob,  from 
discarded  honey  cans.  It  is  decidedly  dangerous  to  purchase  honey 
on  the  market,  with  no  knowledge  of  its  source,  to  be  used  in  feeding 
bees.  Many  outbreaks  of  disease  can  be  traced  to  this  practice 
(see  "Feeding,"  p.  26).  It  is  difficult  to  prevent  bees  from  getting 
contaminated  honey  accidentally.  If  colonies  are  purchased,  great 
care  should  be  taken  that  there  is  no  disease  present.  Whenever 
possible,  colonies  should  be  purchased  near  at  home,  unless  dis- 
ease is  already  present  in  the  neighborhood. 

There  are  other  diseased  conditions  of  the  brood,  known  to  bee 
keepers  as  "pickle  brood,"  but  these  can  usually  be  distinguished 
from  the  two  diseases  previously  mentioned.  The  so-called ''pickle 
brood"  is  not  contagious  and  no  treatment  is  necessary.  Bees  also 
suffer  from  ''dysentery,"  which  is  discussed  in  the  earher  part  of  this 
bulletin,  and  from  the  so-caUed  "paralysis,"  a  disease  of  adult  bees. 
No  treatment  for  the  latter  disease  can  as  yet  be  recommended  as 
reUable.  The  sprinkling  of  powdered  sulphur  on  the  top  bars  of 
frames  or  at  the  entrance  is  sometimes  claimed  to  be  effective,  but 
under  what  circumstances  it  is  beneficial  is  unknown. 

A  number  of  insects,  birds,  and  mammals  must  be  classed  as  ene- 
mies of  bees,  but  of  these  the  two  wax  moths,  and  ants,  are  the  only 
ones  of  importance.  There  are  two  species  of  moth,  the  larger  wax 
moth  {Gallena  melloneUa  L.),  and  the  lesser  wax  moth  (AcJiroia  griseUa 
Fab.),  the  larvae  of  which  destroy  combs  by  burrowing  through 
them.^  Reports  are  frequently  received  in  the  department  that  the 
larvae  of  these  moths  (usually  the  larger  species)  are  destroying  colo- 
nies of  bees.  It  may  be  stated  positively  that  moths  do  not  destroy 
strong,  healthy  colonies  in  good  hives,  and  if  it  is  supposed  that  they 
are  causing  damage  the  bee  keeper  should  carefully  stud}"  his  colonies 
to  see  what  other  trouble  has  weakened  them  enough  for  the  moths 
to  enter.  Queenlessness,  lack  of  stores,  or  some  such  trouble  may  be 
the  condition  favorable  to  the  entrance  of  the  pest,  but  a  careful 
examination  should  be  made  of  the  brood  to  see  whether  there  is  any 

'Bee  keepers  refer  to  these  insects  as  "moths,"  "wax  moths,"  "bee  moths,"  "millers,"  "wax  worms," 
"honey  moths."  "moth  worms,"  "moth  millers,"  and  "grubs."    The  last  six  terms  are  not  correct. 
447 


44  BEES. 

evidence  of  disease.  This  is  the  most  frequent  cause  of  the  cases  of 
moth  depredation  reported  to  this  department.  Black  bees  are  less 
capable  of  driving  moth  larvae  out,  but,  even  with  these  bees,  strong 
colonies  rarely  allow  them  to  remain.  The  observance  of  the  golden 
rule  of  bee  keeping,  "Keep  all  colonies  strong,"  will  solve  the  moth 
question  unless  disease  appears. 

Moth  larvae  often  destroy  combs  stored  outside  the  hive.  To 
prevent  this  the  combs  may  be  fumigated  with  sulphur  fumes  or 
bisulphid  of  carbon  in  tiers  of  hives  or  in  tight  rooms.  If  bisulphid 
of  carbon  is  used,  great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  bring  it  near  a 
flame,  as  it  is  highly  inflammable.  Combs  should  be  stored  in  a  dry, 
well-ventilated,  light  room. 

In  the  warmer  par+s  of  the  countrjr  ants  are  often  a  serious  pest. 
They  may  enter  the  hive  for  protection  against  changes  of  tempera- 
ture, or  to  prey  on  the  honey  stores  or  the  brood.  The  usual  method 
of  keeping  them  out  is  to  put  the  hive  on  a  stand,  the  legs  of  which 
rest  in  vessels  containing  water  or  creosote.  Another  method  is  to 
wrap  a  tape  soaked  in  corrosive  sublimate  around  the  bottom  board. 

GENERAL   INFORMATION. 

For  the  purpose  of  answering  numerous  question:^  which  are  asked 
of  this  department  the  following  brief  topics  are  included. 

BREEDERS    OF   QUEENS. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  bee  keepers  who  make  a  business  of 
rearing  queens  of  good  stock  for  sale.  The  queens  are  usually  sent 
by  mail.  If  poor  stock  is  all  that  can  be  obtained  locally,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  such  colonies  be  purchased  and  the  queens  removed  and 
replaced  with  those  obtained  from  a  good  breeder.  This  department 
can  supply  names  of  breeders,  nearest  the  applicant,  of  any  race  raised 
in  this  country. 

INTRODUCING   QUEENS. 

When  queens  are  shipped  by  mail  they  usually  come  in  cages  (fig. 
25)  which  can  be  used  for  introducing.  If  the  colony  to  receive  the 
new  queen  has  one,  she  must  be  removed  and  the  cage  inserted 
between  the  frames.  The  small  hole  leading  into  the  candj^  com- 
partment is  uncovered,  and  the  bees  gradually  eat  through  and 
release  the  queen.  If  queens  are  reared  at  home,  a  similar  cage  may 
be  used  for  introducing.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  disease  may  be 
transmitted  in  mailing  cages,  it  is  always  a  wise  precaution  to  remove 
the  new  queen  and  destroy  the  accompanying  workers  and  the  cage 
and  its  contents.  The  queen  may  then  be  put  into  a  clean  cage 
without  worker  bees,  with  candy  known  to  be  free  from  contamina- 
tion (made  from  honey  from  healthy  hives),  and  introduced  in  the 
regular  way. 

447 


BEES. 


45 


Queens  sold  by  breeders  are  always  mated  unless  otberwise  speci- 
fied, and  consequently  the  colony  in  which  they  are  introduced  has 
no  effect  on  her  offspring.  During  the  active  season  the  bees  in  the 
colony  are  all  the  offspring  of  the  new  queen  in  about  nine  weeks. 
Three  weeks  is  required  for  the  previous  brood  to  emerge  (if  the 
colony  has  not  been  queenless).  and  in  six  weeks  after  all  the  old 
brood  emerges  most  of  the  workers  from  it  will  have  died.  Queens 
are  usually  sold  according  to  the  following  classification: 

"  Untested  queen" — one  that  has  mated,  but  the  race  of  the  drone 
is  not  known. 

"  Tested  queen" — one  that  has  mated  and  has  been  kept  only  long 
enough  to  show,  from  the  markings  of  her  progeny,  that  she  mated 
with  a  drone  of  her  own  race. 

^'Breeding  queen  " — a  tested  queen  which  has  shown  points  of  supe- 
riority, making  her  desirable  for  breeding  purposes. 

DEALERS   IN  BEE   EI:EPERS'  STJPPLIES. 

There  are  several  manufacturers  of  suppUes  in  this  country  who 
can  furnish  ahnost   anything  desired  by  the  bee  keeper.     Some  of 
them  have  agents  in  various  parts  of  the  country  from  whom  supplies 
may  be  purchased,  thus 
saving    considerable    in 
freight. 

BEE     KEEPERS'    ASSO- 
CIATIONS. 

There  are  a  large  num- 
ber of  associations  of  bee 
keepers  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  formed  for 
the  betterment  of  the  industry,  and  a  few  associations  which  are  organ- 
ized to  aid  the  members  in  purchasing  suppUes  and  in  selling  the  crops. 
Of  these  the  National  Bee  Keepers"  Association  is  the  largest.  It  helps 
its  members  in  obtaining  their  legal  rights,  and  aids  in  securing  legisla- 
tion for  the  furtherance  of  the  industrv.  The  annual  conventions  are 
held  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  copies  of  the  proceedings  are 
sent  to  the  members.  There  are  also  numerous  State,  county,  and 
town  associations,  some  of  which  publish  proceedings.  The  names 
of  officers  of  the  nearest  associations  or  of  the  National  Bee  Keepers' 
Association  will  be  sent  from  this  department  on  request. 

LAWS   AFFECTING  BEEKEEPING. 

Disease  inspection. — Various  States  have  passed  laws  providing 
for  the  State  or  county  inspection  of  apiaries  for  bee-disease  control, 
and  every  bee  keeper  should  get  in  touch  with  an  inspector  when 

447 


Fig.  25. — Queen  mailing  cage. 


46  BEES. 

disease  is  suspected,  if  one  is  provided.  The  inspectors  are  practical 
bee  keepers  who  fully  understand  liow  to  control  the  diseases,  and 
are  of  great  help  in  giving  directions  in  this  matter.  The  name  of 
the  inspector  of  any  locality  can  usually  be  furnished,  and  this 
department  is  glad  to  aid  bee  keepers  in  reaching  the  proper  officers. 

Laws  against  spraying  fruit  trees  while  in  bloom. — The  spraying 
of  fruit  trees  while  in  bloom  is  not  now  advised  by  economic  ento- 
mologists, and  to  prevent  the  practice  some  States  have  passed 
laws  making  it  a  misdemeanor.  Such  spraying  not  only  kills  off 
honey  bees,  causing  a  loss  to  the  bee  keeper,  but  interferes  with  the 
proper  pollination  of  the  blossoms  and  is  thus  a  detriment  to  the 
fruit  grower.  Bee  keepers  should  do  everything  in  their  power  to 
prevent  the  practice. 

Laws  against  the  adulteration  of  honey. — The  national  food  and 
drugs  act  of  1906,  and  various  State  pure  food  laws,  are  a  great  aid 
to  the  bee  keeper  in  preventing  the  sale  of  adulterated  extracted 
honey  as  pure  honey.  Bee  keepers  can  often  aid  in  this  work  by 
reporting  to  the  proper  officials  infringements  of  these  laws  which 
come  to  their  notice. 

When  bees  are  a  nuisance. — Some  cities  have  passed  ordinances 
prohibiting  the  keeping  of  bees  in  certain  areas,  but  so  far  none 
has  been  able  to  enforce  them.  If  bees  are  a  nuisance  in  individual 
cases,  the  owner  may  be  compelled  to  remove  them.  The  National 
Bee  Keepers'  Association  "will  help  any  of  its  members  in  such  cases, 
if  they  are  in  the  right,  as  well  as  in  cases  where  bees  sting  horses. 
Bee  keepers  should  be  careful  not  to  locate  bees  where  they  can 
cause  any  trouble  of  this  kind. 

SUPPOSED   INJURY   OF   CROPS   BY   BEES. 

Bee  keepers  are  often  compelled  to  combat  the  idea  that  bees 
cause  damage  to  fruit  or  other  crops  by  sucking  the  nectar  from  the 
flower.  This  is  not  only  untrue,  but  in  many  cases  the  bees  are  a 
great  aid  in  the  pollination  of  the  flowers,  making  a  good  crop  possible. 
A  more  frequent  complaint  is  that  bees  puncture  fruit  and  suck  the 
juices.  Bees  never  puncture  sound  fruit,  but  if  the  skin  is  broken 
by  some  other  means  bees  will  often  suck  the  fruit  dry.  In  doing  it, 
however,  they  are  sucking  fruit  which  is  already  damaged.  These 
and  similar  charges  against  the  honey  bee  are  prompted  by  a  lack  of 
information  concerning  their  activities.  Bees  may,  of  course,  become 
a  nuisance  to  others  through  their  stinging  propensities,  but  bee 
keepers  should  not  be  criticized  for  things  which  their  bees  do  not  do. 

JOUHNALS   AND   BOOKS   ON  BEEKEEPING. 

The  progressive  bee  keeper  will  find  it  to  his  profit  to  subscribe 
for  at  least  one  journal  devoted  to  beekeeping.     Several  of   these 
are  published  in  the  United  States.     The  names  and  addresses  of 
447 


BEES.  47 

such  journals  may  usually  be  obtained  from  a  subscription  agent 
for  periodicals,  or  from  a  supply  dealer. 

It  will  also  be  advantageous  to  read  and  study  books  on  beekeep- 
ing, of  which  several  are  published  in  this  country.  These  are 
advertised  in  journals  devoted  to  beekeeping,  or  may  usually  be 
obtained  through  the  local  book  dealer  or  through  dealers  in  bee 
keepers'  supplies. 

PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGmCULTTJIlE  ON  BEE 

KEEPING.! 

There  are  several  pubhcations  of  this  department  which  are  of 
interest  to  bee  keepers,  and  new  ones  are  added  from  time  to  time  in 
regard  to  the  different  lines  of  investigation. 

The  following  publications  relating  to  bee  culture,  prepared  in  the 

Bureau  of  Entomology,  are  for  free  distribution  and  may  be  obtained 

by  addressing  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture :  ^ 

Farmers'  BuUetin  No.  447,  "Bees."  By  E.  F.  PhilHps,  Ph.  D.  1911.  48  pp., 
25  figs. 

A  general  account  of  the  management  of  bees. 

Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  442,  "The  Treatment  of  Bee  Diseases."  By  E.  F.  Phillips, 
Ph.  D.     1911.     22  pp.,  7  figs. 

This  publication  gives  briefly  the  symptoms  of  the  various  bee  diseases,  with  directions  for  treatment. 

Circular  No.  94,  "The  Cause  of  American  Foul  Brood."    By  G.  F.  "\\Tiite,  Ph.  D. 

1907.  4  pp. 

This  publication  contains  a  brief  account  of  the  Investigations  which  demonstrated  for  the  first  time 
the  cause  of  one  of  the  brood  diseases  of  bees,  American  foul  brood. 

Circular  No.  138.  '"  The  Occurrence  of  Bee  Diseases  in  the  United  States.  (Prelimi- 
nar>'  Report.)"     By  E.  F.  Phillips,  Ph.  D.     1911.     25  pp. 

A  record  of  the  localities  from  which  samples  of  diseased  brood  were  received  prior  to  March  1, 1911. 

Bulletin  No.  55,  "The  Rearing  of  Queen  Bees."  By  E.  F.  PhilHps,  Ph.  D.  1905. 
32  pp.,  17  figs. 

A  general  accoimt  of  the  methods  used  m  queen  rearing.  Several  methods  are  given,  so  that  the  bee 
keeper  may  choose  those  best  suited  to  his  individual  needs. 

Bulletin  No.  70,  "Report  of  the  Meeting  of  Inspectors  of  Apiaries,  San  Antonio, 
Tex.,  November  12,  1906."    1907.     79  pp.,  1  plate. 

Contains  a  brief  history  of  bee-disease  investigations,  an  account  of  the  relationship  of  bacteria  to 
bee  diseases,  and  a  discussion  of  treatment  by  various  Inspectors  of  apiaries  and  other  practical  bee 
keepers  who  are  fanuliar  with  diseases  of  bees. 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Part  I,  "Production  and  Care  of  Extracted  Honey."  By  E.  F. 
Phillips,  Ph.  D.  "  Methods  of  Honey  Testing  for  Bee  Keepers. "  By  C.  A.  Browne, 
Ph.  D.     1907.     18  pp. 

The  methods  of  producing  extracted  honey,  with  special  reference  to  the  care  of  honey  after  it  is 
taken  from  the  bees,  so  that  its  value  may  not  be  decreased  by  improper  handling.  The  second  portion 
of  the  pubUcation  gives  some  simple  tests  for  adulteration. 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Part  II,  "  Wax  Moths  and  American  Foul  Brood. "  By  E.  F.  Phillips, 
Ph.  D.     1907.     Pp.  19-22,  3  plates. 

An  account  of  the  behavior  of  the  two  species  of  wax  moths  on  combs  containing  American  foul 
brood,  showing  that  moths  do  not  destroy  the  disease-carrying  scales. 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Part  III,  "Bee  Diseases  in  Massachusetts."    By  Burton  N.  Gates. 

1908.  Pp.  23-32,  map. 

An  account  of  the  distribution  of  the  brood  diseases  of  bees  in  the  State,  with  brief  directions  for 
controUing  them. 


1  List  revised  to  April  1,  1911.    (VII.) 

-  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  59,  "  Bee  Keeping,"  and  Farmers'  Bulletin  Xo.  397,  '-Bees,"  have  been  super- 
seded bv  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  447. 
Circular  No.  79,  "The  Brood  Diseases  of  Bees,"  has  lieen  superseded  by  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  442. 
Bulletin  No.  1,  "  The  Honey  Bee,"  has  been  discontinued. 

447 


48  BEES. 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Part  IV. ' '  The  Relation  of  the  Etiolosv  (Cause)  of  Bee  Diseases  to  the 
Treatment."'    By  G.  F.  "^Miite,  Ph.  D.     190S.     Pp':  33-42. 

The  necessity  for  a  knowledge  of  the  cause  of  bee  diseases  before  rational  treatment  is  possible  is 
pointed  out.    The  present  stat«  of  knowledge  of  the  causes  of  disease  is  summarized . 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Part  V,  "A  Brief  Survey  of  Hawaiian  Bee  Keeping."  By  E.  F. 
Phillips,  Ph.  D.     1909.     Pp.  43-58,  6  plates. 

An  account  of  the  beekeeping  methods  used  in  a  tropical  country  and  a  comparison  -with  mainland 
conditions.    Some  new  manipulations  are  recommended. 

Bulletin  No  75,  Part  VI,  ' '  The  Status  of  Apiculture  in  the  United  States. "  Bv  E.  F. 
PhiUips,  Ph.  D.     1909.     Pp.  59-80. 

A  survey  of  present-dav  beekeeping  in  the  United  States,  with  suggestions  as  to  the  work  yet  to 
be  done  before"  apiculture  will  have  reached  its  fullest  development. 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Part  VII,  "Bee  Keeping  in  Massachusetts."    By  Btirton  N.  Gates. 

1909.  Pp.  81-109,  2  figs. 

An  account  of  a  detailed  study  of  the  apicultural  conditions  in  Massachusetts.  The  object  of  this 
paper  is  to  point  out  the  actual  conditions  and  needs  of  beekeeping  in  New  England. 

Bulletin  No.  75,  Contents  and  Index.     1911.     Pp.  vni+lll-12J. 

Bulletin  No.   75,   Parts  I-VII,  complete  -vdth  Contents  and  Index.    1911.    Pp. 

vni+123. 
Bulletin  No.  98.  "Historical  Notes  on  the  Causes  of  Bee  Diseases."     By  E.  F. 

Phillips,  Ph.  D.,  and  G.  F.  "^Tiite,  Ph.  D.,  M.  D.     (In  press.) 

A  summary  of  the  various  investigations  concerning  the  etiology  (Cause)  of  bee  diseases. 

Technical  Series,  No.  14,  ' '  The  Bacteria  of  the  Apiar\%  with  Special  Reference  to  Bee 
Diseases."    By  G.  F.  "VNTiite,  Ph.  D.     1906.     50  pp. 

A  study  of  the  bacteria  present  in  both  the  healthy  and  the  diseased  colony,  with  special  reference  to 
the  diseases  of  bees. 

Technical  Series  No.  18,     ' '  The  Anatomy  of  the  Honey  Bee."    B-\  R.  E.  Snodgrass. 

1910.  162  pp.,  57  figs. 

An  account  of  the  structure  of  the  bee,  with  technical  terms  omitted  so  far  as  possible.  Practically 
all  of  the  illustrations  are  new.  and  the  various  parts  are  interpreted  according  to  The  t'est  usage  in 
comparative  anatomy  of  insects.    A  brief  discussion  of  the  physiology  of  the  various  organs  is  included . 

BUREAU   OP  CHEMISTRY. 

Bulletin  No.  110,  "Chemical  Analysis  and  Composition  of  American  Honeys."  By 
C.A.Browne.  Includine  "A  Microscopical  Study  of  Honey  Pollen."  By  W.J. 
Young.     1908.     93  pp.,  l^fig.,  6  plates. 

A  comprehensive  studv  of  the  chemical  composition  of  American  honeys.  This  publication  is 
technical  in  nature  and  will  perhaps  be  httle  used  by  practical  bee  keepers,  but  it  is  an  important 
contribution  to  apicultural  hterature.  By  means  of  this  work  the  detection  of  honey  adulteration  is 
much  aided.] 

HAWAH  AGRICULTURAL   EXPERIMENTAL   STATION.  HONOLULU,  HAWAH. 

Bulletin  No.  17,  ' '  Hawaiian  Honevs."  Bv  D.  L.  Van  Dine  and  Alice  R.  Thompson. 
1908.     21  pp.,  1  plate. 

A  study  of  the  source  and  composition  of  the  honeys  of  Hawaii.  The  pecuhar  conditions  found  on 
these  islands  are  dealt  with. 


